Q&A#5: What really matters in parenting? Part 1

Listener Roberta submitted a question recently on YourParentingMojo.com/question:

What does the research say are the decisions that really matter in parenting?

That question immediately got my brain churning about what could be included, and how we would decide what to include, and how much of what's included could actually be research-based.

The episode begins with a look at some of the major categories of factors that impact our children's development that we may not have as much control over, because we have to acknowledge these before we can look at what we do impact.

Then I look at some of the things we do control but I think we can pretty safely stop worrying about them. The impact that each of these things has is likely to be so tiny as to individually meaningless.

Finally, I count down my list of the top 5 things that I think impact children's development.

This episode is for parents of children aged about 2 onwards. I think infants have some different needs, and I'm planning a separate episode on those later in the year.

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Other episodes/blogs referenced

014: Understanding the AAP’s new screen time guidelines

052: Grit: The unique factor in your child’s success?

061: Can Growth Mindset live up to the hype?

067: Does the Marshmallow Test tell us anything useful?

068: Do I HAVE to pretend play with my child?

148: Is spanking a child really so bad?

196: How to do right by your child – and everyone else’s with Dr. Elizabeth Cripps

Why people claim that gentle parenting ‘doesn’t work’

https://www.parentifact.org/why-does-parenting-advice-seem-to-change-so-often/

Jump to Highlights

00:54 Introducing the topic

01:09 Question from Listener Roberta

07:43 Socio-economic status affects a child's environment and parenting approaches

18:25 Jeannou's journey reveals the intricate link between upbringing and well-being

27:39 To understand what truly matters in parenting, we must consider both achievable outcomes and deeper definitions of success.

29:38 List of things that are not worth worrying about for children in their toddler years and beyond

33:06 The five things that really matter in parenting

48:21 Wrapping up the discussion

References

Bradley, R.H., & Corwyn, R.F. (2002). Socioeconomic status and child development. Annual Review of Psychology 53, 371-99.

Hoff, E., Laursen, B., & Tardif, T. (2019). Socioeconomic status and parenting. In: M. H. Bornstein (Ed.). Handbook of parenting Volume 2: Biology and ecology of parenting (p.421-447). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Myers, D.G. (2008). Will money buy happiness? In S. Lopez (2008), Positive psychology: Exploring the best in people (Vol. 4: Pursuing human flourishing). Westport, CT: Praeger.

Polderman, T.J.C., Benyamin, B., de Leeuw, C.A., Sullivan, P.F., van Bochoven, A., Visscher, P.M., & Posthuma, D. (2015). Meta-analysis of the heritability of human traits based on fifty years of twin studies. Nature Genetics 47(7), 702.

Ulferts, H. (2020). Why parenting matters for children in the 21st century: An evidence-based framework for understanding parenting and its impact on child development. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Education Working Paper No. 222. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hannah-Ulferts/publication/342082899_Why_parenting_matters_for_children_in_the_21st_century_An_evidence-based_framework_for_understanding_parenting_and_its_impact_on_child_development/links/5ee1eb5aa6fdcc73be702921/Why-parenting-matters-for-children-in-the-21st-century-An-evidence-based-framework-for-understanding-parenting-and-its-impact-on-child-development.pdf