Parents' and Children's Perceptions of the Keep It Moving! After-School Physical Activity Program

After-school PA programs have been used as an outlet to help children increase PA levels. To attract children and their parents, it is important to understand perceptions about programs. With child and parent input, researchers and practitioners will better be able to increase PA with activities the children enjoy and encourage increased PA. A cross-sectional design was used to survey children and parents involved in Keep It Moving! (KIM), an after-school PA program geared toward low SES families in Southern Colorado. Responses to the surveys were coded into categories and descriptive statistics were calculated. Most parents (91.1%) reported their children in KIM increased their PA levels. The majority of children (76.5%) preferred competitive activities, but simultaneously reported competitive activities as least favorite. Parents' and children's perceptions provide insight into enjoyment and necessary changes for this after-school program. Of most interest, practitioners must thoughtfully consider choice of activities for after-school programs. Although children in this evaluation preferred competitive activities, these activities must be tempered to ensure that time in PA is not compromised.