Parenting and toddler self‐regulation in low‐income families: What does sleep have to do with it?

Abstract

Toddlerhood is a sensitive period in the development of self‐regulation, a set of adaptive skills that are fundamental to mental health and partly shaped by parenting. Healthy sleep is known to be critical for self‐regulation; yet, the degree to which child sleep alters interactive child–parent processes remains understudied. This study examines associations between observed parenting and toddler self‐regulation, with toddler sleep as a moderator of this association. Toddlers in low‐income families (N = 171) and their mothers were videotaped during free play and a self‐regulation challenge task; videos were coded for mothers’ behavior and affect (free play) and toddlers’ self‐regulation (challenge task). Mothers reported their child's nighttime sleep duration via questionnaire. Results revealed significant Sleep × Maternal Negative Affect and Sleep × Maternal Negative Control interactions. Children who did not experience negative parenting had good self‐regulation regardless of their nighttime sleep duration. For children who did experience negative parenting, self‐regulation was intact among those who obtained more nighttime sleep, but significantly poorer among children who were getting less nighttime sleep. Thus, among children who were reported to obtain less nighttime sleep, there were more robust associations between negative parenting and poorer self‐regulation than among toddlers who were reported to obtain more sleep.

Resident and Non-resident Father Involvement, Coparenting, and the Development of Children’s Self-Regulation Among Families Facing Economic Hardship

“…Notably, the quality of the caregiving environment can support adaptive self-regulation, especially during the early years of life. Emerging research examining the contributions of mothers’ parenting to child self-regulation in low socioeconomic contexts has revealed more positive parenting supports better self-regulation (i.e., Brophy-Herb et al, 2012 ; Julian et al, 2019 ). However, surprisingly few studies have considered how coparenting, or the extent to which parents support or undermine each other’s parenting strategies, and fathers’ parenting may positively contribute to the development of self-regulation.…”

Self-Regulation and its Relationship to Social Intelligence among College of Education Female Students at Prince Sattam University

“…Results of these studies revealed that a self-regulated person plans and sets future goals that they seek to achieve successfully despite their concern with respect to the Future. Besides, the study of Julian et al (2019) revealed the effect of negative parenting treatment (neglect) on poor self-regulation of children. Jamil (2019) also recommended paying attention to self-regulation skills, as well as the necessity of developing them through various activities and programs.…”

Longitudinal links between maternal factors and infant cognition: Moderation by infant sleep

“…Indeed, findings from several studies suggest that high quality sleep may either buffer infants from the negative impacts of adverse environments, or help infants take advantage of an enriched environment. For example, two studies have shown that negative parenting techniques (e.g., psychological control, negative affect) predict worse socioemotional functioning, but only for children who have poorer nighttime sleep (El‐Sheikh et al, ; Julian et al, ). These findings are consistent with a diathesis‐stress model (Monroe & Simons, ), where children with certain risk characteristics (e.g., poor sleepers) are more susceptible to the negative effects of adverse experiences.…”

“…However, in the absence of previous literature, we did not have specific hypotheses regarding how these two components of sleep quality might differentially interact with maternal factors to predict infant outcomes. Based on previous studies with toddlers and school‐aged children (Bernier et al, ; Bordeleau et al, ; El‐Sheikh et al, ; Julian et al, ), we hypothesized that infant sleep quality would moderate the links between maternal factors (i.e., depressive symptoms, education, and maternal sleep) and infants’ cognitive outcomes. Specifically, we predicted that maternal education would be related to better cognitive functioning and behavioral attention, but only for infants with high sleep quality.…”