Parenting
Parenting Involvement in Education
Parenting is one of the most important factors that affect the development of children.
Children attending nursery is important to achievement, but parental involvement is just as
crucial. Parental involvement helps children feel education is valued and helps parents
understand the needs and strengths of their child.
What involvement have your parents had in your education?
How does this make you feel?
How would this affect a child and their development?
Parenting – importance of attachment
The way parents feel about their children and form a relationship is crucial. Babies need a
good strong attachment in order to develop well emotionally and socially. Children with good
attachment are more confident and have higher self-esteem, and are therefore less likely
to show clinginess and demanding behaviour.
There are several factors that can affect the attachment process and thus the
development of the child. These are:
Disability
Disabled babies
make attachment
harder for parents.
Parents may also
struggle with their
Emotional Prematurity
feelings for the baby
unavailability Premature babies
This can be due to cannot be picked up
alcohol, drugs or and held like other
illness and parents babies and this can
struggling with their affect the attachment
role. process.
Attachment
may not go
smoothly
because of:
Foster care/ Post-natal
adoption depression
If kids spend time in Many mums are
care they can lose depressed after birth
their first but PND lasts longer
attachments. and effects mums
Separation
ability to attach.
Separation of
parents and babies
affects attachment.
This may be due to
illness, bereavement
or splitting up.
Parental Approval and Interaction
Throughout childhood, relationships with parents are important. Parents who are able to
give unconditional love give children security and they can develop confidence. Children
with confidence and a high self-esteem are more likely to try out new skills than think they
are ‘not good enough’.
Parental interaction can help the development of a child. Think of a way for each factor:
Emotional development
Language development
Cognitive development
Social development
Physical development
Parental Expectations and Interests
Parental interests and expectations can make a major difference to a child’s development.
Parents who enjoy music may encourage creativity be letting them play instruments.
Parents who take part in sport may provide more physical games.
Expectations can be unrealistic and this is where problems occur. Children begin to think
that approval is based on meeting these targets and this can lead to low self-esteem as
they don’t measure up to their parents wishes.
What are the expectations of your parents for you? Have these had an influence on your
life?
Parenting Styles
There are three types of parenting: authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative.
Difficulties arise for children whose parents are either too authoritarian or too
permissive, or whose parents’ style changes regularly.
Decide which of these statements are traits of authoritarian, permissive and authoritative
and place them into the correct column of the table.
High demands No guidelines or rules High expectations
Keen for children to do well Children can eat and sleep confident enough to
but will listen to children when they like establish and maintain
suggestions parent-child boundaries
Prepared to negotiate with Children expected to Very dictatorial
children conform
Only focus on child’s needs Blur the distinction between Positive and supportive
parent and friend
Constant positivity does lead Children have high self- May not give children
to high self-esteem esteem and do well at school choices
May restrict children’s play Kids may find it hard to Children will lack confidence
or provide very structured share, conform or co- – too concerned with doing
play operate: difficult behaviour well for positive feedback
Authoritarian Permissive Authoritative
Parenting Questions
1. Explain the importance of attachment in child development and explain three factors
that can affect the attachment process. (5 marks)
2. Outline two ways parents can affect their child’s language development. (4 marks)
3. How can parenting styles affect a child’s emotional and social development? (3 marks)
4. Describe two ways a very authoritarian parent with a high involvement in their child’s
education could affect their child’s development. (2 marks)
Answers: