9 - Parenting and the Family Flashcards
7 components of parenting
N MMM LTD
Nurturance
- showing warmth, responding to needs
Discipline
- explaining and providing appropriate punishment
Teaching
- asking teaching questions
Language
- age appropriateness
Materials
- what materials are provided by the parent to support the child’s play
Monitoring
- awareness of where the child is and what they’re doing
Managing
- routines, planning for the future
2 primary dimensions of parental behaviour
Emotionality (warmth)
- responsive and child-centred
> or rejecting, uninvolved
Control
- being demanding, restricting their behaviour
> or being permissive and undemanding
4 parenting styles
Authoritative
- high control, high warmth
Authoritarian
- high control, low warmth
Permissive
- low control, high warmth
Uninvolved
- low control, low warmth
Which parenting style has the worst outcome in certain contexts?
Authoritarian
Which parenting style has the best outcome in most contexts?
Authoritative
Which parenting style has poor outcomes in most contexts?
Uninvolved
Authoritarian
> don’t rely on discussion
harsh
children tend to be more dependent
public yelling / spanking
Permissive
> don’t often discipline their children
like to meet the children’s needs
children seem to be less mature and less independent
more likely to have high self-esteem, but also behavioural problems
Authoritative
> set guidelines but flexible
positive feedback instead of punishment
child tends to do well
child encouraged to be autonomous but are given rules
Uninvolved
> don’t interact much with their child
occurs sometimes when the parent has their own problems
children tend to be susceptible to peer pressure
Limitations of the Parenting Style Approach
- does not take into account the impact on the parents
> child’s temperament and behaviours
> physical and social neighbourhood
> cultural practices
Parenting and socioeconomic group
- in low socioeconomic groups, there is higher frequency of forbidding language
> also less positive feedback - because parenting is adapted to the contextual environment, i.e. a bad neighbourhood
Ecological Systems approach to parenting
- interpreting parenting style in the light of cultural and contextual factors
> i.e. socio-economic status and cultural values - family seen as an ecosystem, where each element interacts (interdependent system)
> child affects family members and vice versions
Ecological Systems view on families
> tend to attain homeostasis \+ an optimal paradigm of functioning for the kid > have boundaries but are adaptable > use routines > well functioning
- Parents’ socialisation of the children
> conscious and systematic socialisation with them, beginning at birth
> social roles reinforced by modelling
> promotes child’s social life and activities
School Readiness
- is a child emotionally, cognitively and behaviourally ready to engage in a school environment in an optimal fashion
> biggest predictor of adult success
Ecological Systems perspective on family development
- Development is the relationship between people and their environments
> cannot evaluate a child’s development only in the immediate environment - instability and unpredictability in modern family life is the most destructive force in a child’s development
> children that move a lot or have parents who act unpredictably tend to have persistent adjustment problems
> children without strong primary relationships will find affirmation in inappropriate places, particularly in adolescence
Four layers of relationships that influence a child’s development
- Microsystem
- Mesosystem
- Exosystem
- Macrosystem
Microsystem
- Variables that the child is directly exposed to
> relationships: family, school, neighbours, religious institutions
+ family is the most influential
> environment
> child’s body
+ general health
+ brain functioning, physiological and psychological
+ emotions and Cognitive systems
- most of the child’s behaviour is learned here
- consists of bidirectional influences
> parents actively shape the development of the child
> child actively shapes their own environment
+ we self-select into environments that suit our genotype
Mesosystem
- interconnections between the elements of the microsystem
> interactions between family and teachers
> relationship between child’s peers and family
Ecosystem
- Institutions of society that directly affect a child’s development
> parent’s workplace
> quality of school
> neighbourhood
- impacts a child’s development by influencing structures in the microsystem
Macrosystem
- Cultural Context
- provides values and customs within a culture
> influences parenting style, and teachers
> may be conscious or unconscious
- influences societal values and legislation provided by a society to help families function
- influences the interactions of all other layers (micro/meso/eco)
Direct and indirect effects of parental conflict for the child
> direct = child witnesses argument
indirect = parents change their behaviours as a result of the argument
- sometimes highly conflictual parents can use the child in the argument
> can be very detrimental to the child, and is poor modelling or behaviour and conflict management
Effects of parental conflict on different sexes
- boys are more affected by family disharmony than girls
- boys are more likely exposed to parental arguments
- children can also impact parental relationships if they are Temperamentally difficult
