Childhood overweight is a serious public health concern. Promoting physical activity is one key in fighting the obesity epidemic and studies have shown that parents play a key role in influencing children’s physical activity behavior. To address the void of cross-cultural youth physical activity research, the purpose of this study was to explore parental influences on the physical activity behavior of children of various ethnic backgrounds and of low socioeconomic status. Using the Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model (Welk, 1999) as a theoretical framework, four parental influencing strategies were investigated through multiple regression analyses to explore direct and indirect parental influence. This study replicated a previous study by Welk, Wood, and Morss (2003). The survey administered combined the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (Kowalski, Crocker, & Faulkner, 1997), the Children’s Attraction to Physical Activity scale (Brustad, 1993, 1996), the perceived athletic competence scale from the Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985), and a series of scales designed to measure children’s perceptions of parental influence on their physical activity behavior (Welk et al., 2003). The sample included 108 children in grades 3-6, who were enrolled in one of two North Carolina charter schools. Although the majority of the sample self-identified as Black or African American, the full sample was considered to be children of various ethnic backgrounds since there was some representation from other ethnic groups. Parental and child consent were obtained and approval to conduct the research was granted by North Carolina State University’s Institutional Review Board. Collectively, the parental influencing variables accounted for 11.3% of the variance in physical activity (F = 3.275, p < .01), 25.8% of the variance in attraction (F = 8.939, p < .00), and 12.6% of the variance in perceived competence (F = 3.727, p < .007). These findings suggested that parents in this sample influence children’s physical activity behavior both directly and indirectly. Parental support strategies such as encouragement and involvement were found to significantly predict children’s physical activity behavior. There was evidence that suggested the general measure of physical activity and the measure of perceived competence introduced cultural bias and therefore did not fully capture the experiences of the children in this sample. Culturally sensitive scales must be developed before further cross-cultural youth physical activity research can continue. The access and opportunities available to this sample may have also affected the choices parents made in how they influenced children’s physical activity behavior. Keyword(s): health promotion, multiculturalism/cultural diversity, physical activity