The Family Parents play 3 roles: Direct instructors Indirect socializers (models) 3. Provider and controllers of opportunities

Parenting Style and Practices “Parenting styles” refers to parenting behaviors and attitudes that set the emotional climate of parent–child interactions. Four main parenting styles (Baumrind,1973): Authoritative Authoritarian Permissive Rejecting–neglecting

Authoritative Parents The Parents demanding, but warm and responsive. Set clear standards. Allow children to develop autonomy. attentive to children’s concerns and needs. consistent in discipline. The Children tend to be competent, self-assured, popular with peers, and low in antisocial behavior and drug use as teens.

Authoritarian Parents The Parents cold and unresponsive to children’s needs. controlling and demanding. Expect children to comply with their demands without question or explanation. The children tend to be low in social and academic competence, unhappy, unfriendly, and low in self-confidence.

Permissive Parents The Parents responsive to their children’s needs lenient with their children. Do not require their children to regulate themselves or behave appropriately. The children tend to be impulsive, lacking in self-control, and low in school achievement. As adolescents, they engage more in misconduct and drug use.

Rejecting–Neglecting Parents The parents disengaged, undemanding, unsupportive, and low in responsiveness Don’t set limits/rules or monitor children’s behavior. The children tend to have disturbed attachment as infants and toddlers and, later, problems with peer relationships. As teens, they exhibit antisocial behavior, depression and social withdrawal, drug use, risky sexual behavior, and low academic and social competence.

Family Dynamics More to “family” than parenting # of sibs, sibs’personality, birth order All members influence each other All are effected by social support Developmental changes in the child changes family dynamics Changes in the family structure (divorce, new siblings)

Wrap Up: Course Objectives To introduce basic questions, theories and methods of developmental approaches to psychology. To show how developmental approaches to psychology can begin to answer these questions To help you to ask the right questions and distinguish a good design and founded conclusions from unfounded ones. To be interesting!

Why Study Child Development? In order to be better parents. In order to help choose and shape social policies. In order to understand human nature.

Applying What We’ve Learned Pick a good partner! “The practical lessons of child-development research for parents begin even before they become parents. Given the importance of genetics, pick a partner whose physical, intellectual, and emotional characteristics suggest that he or she will provide your child with good genes. Given the importance of the environment, pick a partner who will be a good mother or father. In terms of long-term impact on your child, this choice almost certainly will be the most important decision you ever make.” (Siegler, et. al., 2003)

Applying What We’ve Learned Ensure a healthy pregnancy Form a secure attachment (display positive emotion, be consistent, be responsive) Be an authoritative, not an authoritarian or laissez-faire parent! (Provide support, “guided participation”, involve your child in decision making) Expose children to a second language: the earlier the better Provide a stimulating environment Books: First you learn to read, then you read to learn… Discussions of emotions, narratives…long-term impacts on language proficiency, theory of mind, social intelligence etc. etc. And much more…

General Conclusions Multifaceted and complex interactions between Nature and Nurture Multiple sources of sociocultural effects