New research shows that mothers who support their children’s need for autonomy tend to be viewed more positively by their children.
“When mothers are highly controlling of small children’s play, those children are less likely to want to engage with them,” said Jean Ispa, co-chair of the University of Missouri Department of Human Development and Family Studies and a professor in the College of Human Environmental Sciences.
“Respect for autonomy is important, not only for children’s growth, but also for creating positive parent-child relationships. We found that mothers who supported their children’s autonomy were regarded more positively by their children than mothers who were highly directive.”
Ispa’s study, which included more than 2,000 mothers and their children, measured maternal directiveness — or the extent to which mothers controlled activities — in play when the children were two years old and then during a discussion about areas of disagreement when the children were in the fifth grade.
[For more of this story, written by Janice Wood, go to http://psychcentral.com/news/2...-autonomy/80604.html]
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