Learning to let go: Parental over-engagement predicts poorer self-regulation in kindergartners.

Abstract

Responsive parenting and parental scaffolding have been shown to foster executive functions (EFs) and self-regulation skills in young children, but could too much parental directive engagement be counterproductive? To answer this question, we examined parental responses when children were demonstrating active on-task behaviors in a community sample of 102 dyads. We measured the time that parents spend actively guiding children's behavior relative to following the child's lead and created a measure of parental over-engagement to index the degree of active parental engagement via positive control/ scaffolding behaviors. We hypothesized that parental over-engagement would negatively relate to children's self-regulation and EF skills because it creates fewer opportunities for children to practice self-regulation by leading dyadic interaction with their parents. We used an innovative State-Space Grid method to capture second-to-second changes in parental and child behaviors during a set of structured tasks. We examined the conceptual overlap of over-engagement with the global ratings of parenting, revealing that parental over-engagement was negatively correlated with global ratings of parental scaffolding and unrelated to global ratings of parental sensitivity. Next, we showed that parental over-engagement predicted lower levels of child hot EFs and observed self-regulation, controlling for age, parent education, family income, and global ratings of parenting. The predictive validity of overengagement was unique to times when the child was actively engaged and was absent when the child was passively engaged. This study contributes to the discussion of how parents can support the development of self-regulation during the transition to elementary school.

Neural mechanisms underlying the income-achievement gap: The role of the ventral visual stream

“…Additionally, while healthy amounts of cognitive stimulation may be important for the development of the VVS, EF, and academic achievement, a recent study suggests that mothers who were randomly assigned to teach their child something not only increased their cognitive stimulation but also increased intrusiveness ( King et al, Under Review ). Recent work also demonstrates that high greater parental intrusiveness is linked to lower self-regulation and performance on EF tasks in children ( Obradivic et al, 2021 ). Therefore, future work should focus on a more nuanced understanding of the circumstances under which cognitive stimulation is beneficial for cognitive and neural development.…”

Influence of parenting styles on children’s development of externalizing behaviors: The role of resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia

“…Research has indicated that such arbitrary control can cause a child to be a “rebel” (Van Petegem et al, 2015). Children do not show committed compliance or internalization of parents’ demands; instead, they exhibit increasingly negative affect and resistant behaviors (Grolnick & Pomerantz, 2009; Obradovic et al, 2021). Their defiance toward parents can extend to peer interactions, where, for example, they break rules (McDowell & Parke, 2005) and bully (Georgiou et al, 2013).…”

Stakeholders’ Views on Parental Involvement in the Schooling of Children in an Urban School: A Case Study

“…Sometimes parental involvement such as involvement in PTA and volunteering inside and outside of the classroom can be the parent exercising tight social control over their children, whereas such parental involvement minimizes children’s disruptive behavior in school, it may have little effect on cognitive development (Domina, 2005). On the other hand, parental involvement enhances students’ behavioral and academic performance when parents give children room to develop autonomy and self-regulate (Obradović et al, 2021).…”