title: 'Children are exposed to temptation all the time'- parents' lifestyle-related discussions in focus groups.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore parents' perspectives on providing their preschool child with a healthy lifestyle, including obstacles and resources.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted, with 30 parents of 4-year-olds in Sweden. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Systematic Text Condensation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: Lifestyle -'The way you live is parents' responsibility', Challenges to promote children's healthy lifestyle, Support from professionals, and peers might facilitate, and Request for an overall responsibility from society. Parents felt that they were role models for their child's lifestyle, a concept including many factors. Attractive and tempting sedentary activities and unhealthy foods were perceived as obstacles, and parents were frustrated by the media's contradictory lifestyle messages. Child health services were expected to more actively invite parents to discuss their child's lifestyle issues. Parents desired some collective responsibility for children's lifestyles through agencies, services and media messages that support and promote healthy choices.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents struggled to give their children a healthy lifestyle and the 'temptations' of daily unhealthy choices causing hassles and conflicts. Parents desired professional support from preschool, Child Health Care and a collective responsibility from society with uniform guidelines. Parents groups were mentioned as peer support.
authors.affiliation: Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Sweden. christina.stenhammar@uppsala.se
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stenhammar
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahman
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wettergren
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Edlund
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sarkadi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012944:Social Support; D013548:Sweden; D055815:Young Adult