Parenting Primary School Age ChildrenDr Louise KeownFaculty of Education

FocusPrimary school age children

◦5-11yearsKey social and behavioural

developmentsKey parenting issues and optimal

parenting practicesAtypical behavioural development –

NZ findingsFathers’ impact on children’s

adjustment

Key changes in children’s behavioural developmentDevelop greater capacities for

self-control and self-regulation, and social responsibility

Linked to: ◦Decreases in impulsive behaviour◦Growth in understanding of self and

emotions◦Growth in cognitive abilities – redirect

attention, longer term focus, perspective taking

Key Parenting IssuesStrategies for positive behaviour

development◦Co-regulation (Maccoby, 1992)

Parents stay informed Effective use of contact time for teaching and

feedback Foster children’s ability to self-monitor

behaviour Children inform parents of whereabouts,

activities, problems Monitoring a key component

Supervising children’s behaviour from a distance

Key Parenting IssuesStrategies for positive behaviour

development Parenting style

Standard setting Reasoning about appropriate behaviour and

consequences Clear communication Warmth and acceptance

Key changes in children’s social developmentSocial contexts and relationships

◦The roles of peers and family become increasingly complementary

◦Peers provide a context to develop social and cognitive skills, test new behaviours

◦Friends provide emotional support and validation of one’s own thoughts, feelings, and worth

Key Parenting IssuesFostering emotional development

and social competence Parent as a role model

When positive emotion prevalent in the home, linked to children’s positive emotional expression and social skills. (Halberstadt et al., 1999).

Parents’ reactions to children’s emotions. Supportive rather than dismissive reactions to

children’s emotional upsets: help children regulate emotional arousal; linked to children’s social competence and

adjustment (Eisenberg et al., 1998).

Abilities that are key to competent social functioningEmotional Intelligence (EI) components:

◦Motivate oneself◦Persistence when frustrated◦ Impulse control◦Delay gratification◦ Identify one’s own feelings◦ Identify other’s feelings◦Regulate mood◦Regulate emotions◦Empathy

EI predicts how well people do in life

Individual differencesTemperament – individual

differences in emotional, motor, and attentional reactivity, and self-regulation (Rothbart & Bates, 1998).

A child’s temperament style contributes to his/her social competence and adjustment.

Individual differencesChildren’s adjustment predicted

by temperament plus parenting practices. Child temperament and parents’ socialisation efforts influence each other over time (Belsky et al. 2007).

Atypical behavioural developmentKeown (2011), 6-8 year old boys

with behavioural difficulties followed-up from early childhood◦Most frequently reported challenges

Defiance, disobedience Challenging boundaries, argumentative

Atypical behavioural developmentKeown (2011)

◦Both mothers and fathers of boys with behaviour problems reported higher rates of child-parent conflict than parents of comparison boys.

◦What is the risk posed by ongoing child-parent conflict involving both parents?

◦What can be done to help? Behavioural family intervention

Triple Positive Parenting Progam (Sanders et al., 2003)

Does fathers’ parenting make a unique contribution to children’s well-being?Maternal and paternal behaviours

often highly related in many studies

May reflect fact that effective mothers encourage fathers to be highly involved with their children

Fathers’ impact on children: Research evidenceContribute uniquely to children’s

social and behavioural competence

Paternal sensitivity, warmth, appropriate regulation of negative emotion, positive control

Positive involvement (shared activities, praise, affection) associated with fewer child behaviour problems (Amato & Rivera, 1999).

Key MessagesBoth fathers and mothers can

provide interactions with their child that are advantageous to the child’s development.

Children as well as parents play an active role in the process of development – interactive patterns of influence will apply in all cases (Woodhead et al., 2005).