Parenting Styles and Children’s Psychosocial Well-being during the Early Childhood Years

Abstract

This paper is a desk review paper that examines the role of parenting styles in children's psychosocial well-being during the early childhood years. Children's psychosocial well-being is imperative for any developing child because it allows children to connect with their psychological and social well-being as they develop to become adults. Having solid psychosocial foundations laid early in a child's life benefits children throughout their lives as they grow and navigate the world. When these are not evident, children's ability to thrive and develop fully to become adults may be crippled. Hence, the environment where the child is reared matters the most during the early years because it shapes the child and becomes an enabler for adult behavior. During the early childhood years, the role played by parents becomes significant because it enhances the children's psychosocial well-being which is perceived to be important for every child's mental health. When children's psychosocial well-being is prioritized, they become happy children with strong self-esteem who socialize well with other children in the early childhood centres, however, when children have poor psychosocial well-being the interaction with other children becomes problematic and this affects them negatively even beyond their childhood years. Hence, during the early years parents and caregivers need to understand the parenting styles to be employed when raising their children and the impact of those parenting styles on the developing child. The paper adopted the funds of knowledge theory by Moll and colleagues because the theory recognizes the role that family can play in their children's development and learning; hence, the theory shifted the focus in terms of portraying families as dysfunctional and having deficits to a point where they are viewed as resourceful in terms of their children's development. This theory was chosen because it has given families and communities recognition in terms of the role they play in children's development and learning. The literature reviewed showed that parents do not know that they have an important role to play in a child's development. In addition, children from homes where parents know their role seem to be having positive gains when socializing and learning. The paper therefore suggests that parents need to be empowered to understand the role they have in the development of their children.