Physical literacy development in early childhood, viewed by many as the foundation for lifelong physical activity engagement, is significantly influenced by parents. Our aim was to explore parents’ understanding of physical literacy and gain insight into their perspectives on physical literacy promotion. We recruited 18 parents of children between 5 and 8 years old in Australia. Using semistructured interviews and thematic analysis, we identified several key issues regarding parents’ understanding and implementation of physical literacy. Parents expressed interest in improving their implementation of physical literacy practices and had (often unintentionally) provided support for physical literacy subcomponents in the past. However, they described difficulties prioritizing physical literacy above other parental demands and expressed conflicting perceptions regarding where the responsibility should lie for developing their child’s physical literacy (e.g., at home or at school). To ensure that the physical literacy “message” reaches parents, we encourage physical literacy promoters to consider the target (e.g., responsibility, priorities, and awareness) of their promotional strategies. Further investigation into the influence of sociocultural and economic factors on parents’ understanding and application of physical literacy is warranted.

许多人认为，幼儿时期的体育素养发展是终生参与体育活动的基础，它受到父母的显着影响。我们的目的是探索家长对体育素养的理解，并深入了解他们对体育素养促进的看法。我们在澳大利亚招募了 18 名 5 至 8 岁儿童的家长。通过半结构化访谈和主题分析，我们确定了有关家长理解和实施体育素养的几个关键问题。家长表示有兴趣改进体育素养实践的实施，并（通常是无意的）过去为体育素养的子组成部分提供了支持。然而，他们描述了将体育素养置于家长其他要求之上的困难，并表达了关于培养孩子体育素养的责任应该在哪里（例如，在家里或在学校）的相互矛盾的看法。为了确保体育素养“信息”传达给家长，我们鼓励体育素养推广者考虑其推广策略的目标（例如责任、优先事项和意识）。有必要进一步调查社会文化和经济因素对父母理解和应用体育素养的影响。