Table 6 Parent (N = 26) reported problems associated with wearing accelerometers, their own strategies for overcoming these problems, and their suggestions to improve compliance in future interventions

Difficulty in remembering to wear the accelerometers

• Keeping the accelerometers in a visible place when they are taken off at night

• Allowing parents to opt in/out of a text reminder service was seen as a positive way to remind parents to wear the accelerometers

• Making wearing the accelerometers a habit

Lack of understanding about the accelerometers

• Spend more time explaining why parents are asked to wear the accelerometers

• Having the information translated into parents’ native language

The accelerometers being uncomfortable or not practical to wear (for parents and children)

• Choosing to wear clothes with belt loops

Children feeling targeted at school due to being only child wearing the accelerometer

• Support from teachers and school staff

• Providing information on the project/physical activity for the whole class

• Wearing the accelerometer underneath the school uniform

• Asking the whole class to be involved in the project

Children refusing to wear the accelerometers

• Parents encouraging their child to wear the monitor

• Some children were naturally interested and proud to wear the accelerometer

Increasing motivation to wear the accelerometer for parents and children: Provision of data feedback

• Many parents and children were interested in seeing the results from the accelerometers

• Promoting to parents at the initial data collection that they will get feedback on their data

• Knowing if their child was getting enough PA compared to the recommendations, knowing if they’d increased PA over the 3 time points, and having a comparison of other people or the average were all of interest