Research and policy
A more engaged parenting style has benefits for children's development
3 Jun 2010
This study looks at parenting behaviour and children’s development from infancy to early childhood. The study looked at mothers and children, between the ages of 6 and 42 months old, in the Avon area of the United Kingdom, at four regular intervals. Parenting behaviour was defined to include mother-child interactions, like cuddling and play, and outside activities, like walks to the shops or park outings. The study found that positive outcomes from mother-child interactions were evident 12 months later and positive outcomes from outside activities had both concurrent and later positive associations with children’s development.
Educational background was highlighted in the study as a key indicator of the amount of interaction between mother and child. Mothers who were more educated provided more interaction both inside and outside the home than those mothers with less education. In homes where maternal education is lacking, the parenting style of the mother becomes much more important to their children’s development.
The study suggests that interventions that encourage continuous engagement may prove to be more successful than those that focus on single incidents of engaged parenting. It also suggests that interventions might be more effective if they considered educational background rather than income or work status and focused on increasing parental engagement early on in infancy.
The full study, Parenting behaviours and children’s development from infancy to early childhood: changes, continuities and contributions, by Leslie Morrison Gutman and Leon Feinstein can be found in Early Child Development and Care 180(4): 535-556, May 2010
