Active and systematic participation of parents in physical activity may have a direct impact on instilling such behaviors in their children. The aim of research was to assess parents' physical activity and their interest in physical culture of their early school children. Material and methods: The survey was carried out in the school year 2014/2015. 374 families from Mielec County, representing the rural environment, were randomly selected for the survey. Among the sent questionnaires 356

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... ed, however 54 of them were completed incorrectly. Eventually, 302 questionnaires were qualified for further analysis. The method of diagnostic survey was applied in the research, which takes advantage of survey as the basic technique. Results: The detailed analysis of the results showed that physical activity among the majority of mothers and fathers was at a very low level. Both education and socioeconomic status have a significant influence on the level of parents' physical activity. The empirical research also revealed a very low level of most parents' (68.5%) interest in physical culture of their children. Conclusions: On the basis of the research results it can be found that the participation of children in physical culture depends on their parents' physical activity, education and socioeconomic status.