The child-parent relationship has a major influence on most aspects of child development. When optimal, parenting skills and behaviours have a positive ... Skiptomaincontent Thechild-parentrelationshiphasamajorinfluenceonmostaspectsofchilddevelopment.Whenoptimal,parentingskillsandbehaviourshaveapositiveimpactonchildren’sself-esteem,schoolachievement,cognitivedevelopmentandbehaviour. SynthesisPDF CompletetopicPDF Parentingskills Parentingskills:whenresponsivenessandbeliefsenterthepicture Order Download Parentingskills Parents’practices:whenresponsivenessandbeliefsenterthepicture(Aboriginalparents) Order Download Parentingskills Discipline:howmuchisenough? Order Download Howimportantisit? Parentsdifferinthedegreetowhichtheyrespondtochildren’ssignalsandcontroltheirbehaviours.Highqualitycaregiving,characterizedbyasensitive,cognitivelystimulating,andmoderatelycontrollingapproach,iscrucialforchildren’sdevelopmentandsafety.Indeed,manyoftheskillschildrenacquireduringtheearlyyearsarefundamentallydependentonthequalityoftheirinteractionswiththeirparents.Forinstance,parentsplayanimportantroleinfosteringchildren’searlylearning(e.g.,languageandproblem-solvingabilities)andinshapingtheirsocial-emotionalskills(e.g.,emotionregulation,reactivitytostress,andself-esteem).Furthermore,parentshaveaninfluenceonthedevelopment,maintenance,orcessationofchildren’spositiveand/ornegativebehaviours.Thequalityofparentingchildrenreceiveduringtheearlyyearsaffectsthreekeydeterminantsoflatersuccessinschool:theircognitivepotential,theirsocialskills,andtheirbehaviouralfunctioning.Consideringthefactthatparentingskillscanbeacquiredandpassedonfromonegenerationtoanother,continuouseffortstoimprovethequalityofcaregivingareimportant.Whatdoweknow? Whyparentsbehavethewaytheydo? Thecaregivingapproachadoptedbyparentsisinfluencedbyinteractionsbetweenpersonalandenvironmentalfactors.Theseincludea)children’scharacteristics;b)parents’characteristics;andc)thebroadersocialcontextinwhichthefamilyisliving. Childrenandparents’characteristicsWhilesensitive-responsiveparentingisgenerallyassociatedwithpositiveemotionalityinchildren,irritableoraggressivechildrentendtoreceivelesssupportive,ifnotproblematicparenting.Morespecifically,parentingcharacterizedbyinconsistent,rigidorirritableexplosivediscipline,aswellaslowsupervisionandinvolvement,iscloselyrelatedwiththedevelopmentofchildconductproblems.However,itisimportanttokeepinmindthatparentsaredifferentiallyaffectedbythebehavioursandtemperamentoftheirchild.Parents’levelofwarmth/acceptanceandpermissiveness/restrictivenessisinfluencedbythewaytheyinterpretandreacttotheirchild’sbehaviours,theirexpectationsabouttheirchild’sability,andtheirownpsychologicalfunctioning.Parentswhoareabletounderstandthecausesoftheirchild’sdistressandwhoareconfidentabouttheirparentingabilitiestendtobemorenurturing,comforting,andassertive.Incontrast,parentswhobelievetheirchildhasmorepowerthanthemindifficultsituationstendtouselesseffectiveparentingpracticesbybecomingeitherhostileorsubmissive.Similarly,parentswhohaveinaccuratebeliefsorpoorerunderstandingofdevelopmentalmilestonestendtobelesssensitivetotheirchild’ssignals.Finally,parents’ownpsychologicalfunctioningcaninfluencetheircaregivingapproach.Forexample,thereisemergingevidencethatparentswhoexperienceanxietyareinclinedtoadoptanoverprotectingstyleofparenting.Asmuchasresponsiveparentingisfundamentalforthecognitive,social,andemotionaldevelopmentofyoungchildren,parentingbehavioursthatemphasizeoverprotectionmaypromoteavoidanceandthedevelopmentofanxiety. Socio-culturalcontext Parentingpracticesarealsoinfluencedbythesocio-culturalcontext.Whileanauthoritativeparentingstyle(balancedlevelsofcontrolandpermissiveness)isnormativeandassociatedwithpositivechildoutcomesinwhitemiddle-classfamilies,thispositiveassociationdoesnotprevailinallculturalandsocio-economicbackgrounds.Indeed,aflexibleparentingstyleisnotnecessarilyoptimalforchildrengrowingupinhigh-riskneighbourhoods.Infact,thesechildrenmaybenefitfromanauthoritarianparentingstyle(highlevelsofcontrolandlowlevelsofpermissiveness)asithasthepotentialtoreducetheriskfornegativedevelopmentaltrajectories. Whatcanbedone? Alargenumberofparentsupportprogramsexisttostrengthenparentingskillsandpromotethedevelopmentofnewcompetencies.Parentsupportprogramshaveacommongoal—toimprovethelivesofchildrenandtheirparents—andasharedstrategy—toaffectchildrenbycreatingchangesinparents’attitudes,knowledgeand/orbehaviourthroughavarietyofsocialandpracticalsupports.Theseincludecasemanagementthatlinksfamilieswithservices,educationonchilddevelopmentandparentingpractices,andsocialsupportthroughrelationshipswithservicestaffandotherparents. Withtheincreasedrecognitionthatparentingisinfluencedbyarangeoffactorsthatmightcompromiseitsfunctioning,severalprogramshaveextendedtheirfocusbyofferingsupportforparents’self-care(e.g.,depression,birth-controlplanning),maritalquality,and/oreconomicself-sufficiency(e.g.,improvingeducational,occupational,andhousingresources).Ultimately,theseprogramsaimtogiveparentstheknowledgeandskillstheyneedtocarryoutchild-rearingresponsibilitieseffectivelyandprovidetheirchildrenwithexperiencesandopportunitiesthatpromotechildlearninganddevelopment. Thereareanumberofparentsupportinterventionsthathavebeenshowntoimprovebehavioursinpreschool-agechildren,includingHelpingtheNoncompliantChild,theIncredibleYears,Parent-ChildInteractionTherapy,TripleP(PositiveParentingProgram).Basedonpreviousresearchfindings,parentingprogramstendtobeeffectivewhentheycovermultipledomains,includingthechild’sandfamily’ssocialecology,targetspecificbehavioursordevelopmentaltransitions,offerpeersupport,andinvolveparents(e.g.,throughrole-modelling).Continuedresearchisneededtoevaluatechildandparentingoutcomesinabroadervarietyofculturalandsocioeconomicgroups.Likewise,moreresearchneedstobeconductedonthespecificroleoffathers’cognitionsandchild-rearingattitudesinchildren’sdevelopment.Lastly,itisessentialthatdecision-makersreachouttovulnerablefamiliesduringthepreschoolyears,asthesefamiliesarethehardesttoinvolveinparentingprograms(obstaclesduetolanguage,location,and/orhoursofavailability).Byfacilitatingtheirinvolvementinparentingprograms,thesefamilieswillhavetheopportunitytochangesomeoftheirparentingbehavioursandbeliefs,whichmayultimatelybufferchildrenwhoareatriskofpoordevelopmentaloutcomesbecauseofgeneticvulnerability,lowbirthweight,lowsocio-economicstatus,orcumulativeenvironmentalrisks,amongothers. Readmore Howcanparentingprogramssupportchildren’sdevelopment? Parentingprogramscanimproveparent-childinteractionsbyhelpingparentstobetteranticipatetheirchildren’sdevelopmentalchanges,carryoutchild-rearingresponsibilitiesandprovideearlylearningexperiences. Successfulparentingprograms:covermanyfactors,suchasconsistentcaregiving,positivedisciplineandparentalwell-being;addressspecifictypesofchildbehaviourortargetspecificdevelopmentaltransitions.Parentswanttodothebesttheycanfortheirchildren–parentingprogramscanhelpthemmaximizetheirabilitytodothis. Publications Community-BasedParentSupportPrograms ParentingProgramsandTheirImpactontheSocialandEmotionalDevelopmentofYoungChildren Sources,EffectsandPossibleChangesinParentingSkills:CommentsonBelsky,Grusec,andSandersandMorawska Resourcesandbulletins Thematicbulletin Respondingtochildren'sneeds|Importantdevelopmentalmilestonesinyoungchildren CEECDParentingSeries-November2009 Themostimportantthingparentsdo Volume6,No.1-March2007 SearchingforeffectiveCanadianearlychildhoodlearningprograms Volume4,No.1-January2009 TheEncyclopediaalsorecommends... BabiesandAggression Comfort,Play&Teach:APositiveApproachtoParenting,2007 ToddlersandAggression Comfort,Play&Teach:APositiveApproachtoParenting,2007 PreschoolersandAggression Comfort,Play&Teach:APositiveApproachtoParenting,2007 Read,Speak,Sing:Yourbabyandearlyliteracy CanadianPaediatricSociety,2015 Read,Speak,Sing:Funideasforyouandyourbaby CanadianPaediatricSociety,2015 Read,speak,sing:Howparentscanpromoteliteracyfrombirth CanadianPaediatricSociety,2008 ThePeriodofPURPLECrying Anewwaytounderstandyourbaby’scrying Parentingstyles,behaviourandskillsandtheirimpactonyoungchildren LessonsinLearning-EarlyChildhoodLearningKnowledgeCentre-CCL-February2008 Experts'articles Share Viewrelatedtopics Father–Paternity Temperament Divorceandseparation Attachment Injuryprevention DownloadthefactsheetforFREE Pleasefillouttheinformationbelowtoaccesstheinformationsheet. 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