Does early responsive parenting have a special importance for children's development or is consistency across early childhood necessary?

Abstract

The role of early versus ongoing maternal responsiveness in predicting cognitive and social development was examined in home visits for mothers, full-term children (n = 103), and medically low-risk (n = 102) and high-risk (n = 77) preterm children at 5 ages. There were 4 maternal clusters based on warm and contingent responsiveness behaviors observed early (at 6, 12, and 24 months) and late (at 3 and 4 years): high early, high late; high early, low late; low early, moderate late; and low early, low late. Children, especially preterm children, showed faster cognitive growth when mothers were consistently responsive. Social growth was similar in the consistently responsive (high-high) and the early-responsive inconsistent (high-low) clusters, but greater deceleration at 4 years among children with mothers in the inconsistent cluster refuted the notion of a unique role for early responsiveness. The importance of consistent responsiveness, defined by an affective-emotional construct, was evident even when a broader constellation of parenting behaviors was considered.

Emotion Coaching - A Strategy for Promoting Behavioural Self-Regulation in Children/Young People In Schools: A Pilot Study

“…It also implies that emotion coaching can be utilised successfully alongside (or at least as a supplement to) the existing behaviourist model endorsed by the English government as highlighted in our introduction (DfE, 2011b, DfE, 2012a. The common participant claims of how emotion coaching helps to generate a more consistent response to behavioural incidents resonates with literature highlighting the important of consistent responsiveness in promoting social and cognitive growth (for example, Landry et al, 2001). …”

The added impact of parenting education in early childhood education programs: A meta-analysis

“…Consistently responsive interactions-those that provide contingent and appropriate responses to children's communicative actions-support cognitive development in early childhood (Landry, Smith, Swank, Assel, & Vellet, 2001). Additionally, responsive interactions during activities that are cognitively stimulating provide support for cognitive development, through more individualized responses and better scaffolding of skill development (Cristofaro & Tamis-LeMonda, 2012;Mol, Bus, deJong, & Smeets, 2008;Dieterich, Assel, Swank, Smith, & Landry, 2006;Weizman & Snow, 2001).…”

Responsive parenting: Establishing early foundations for social, communication, and independent problem-solving skills.

“…Responsiveness is an aspect of supportive parenting referred to in several theories and research frameworks including attachment (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978;Sroufe, 1983), sociocultural (Rogoff, 1990;Vygotsky, 1978), and socialization of young children (Grusec & Goodnow, 1994;Maccoby & Martin, 1983). Although responsiveness has a central role in various research frameworks, to date, much of researchers' knowledge regarding the influence of responsive parenting on children's development is based on descriptive studies (e.g., Bornstein & Tamis-LeMonda, 1989;Landry, Smith, Swank, Assel, & Vellet, 2001). Although observational research can provide strong empirical support for inferring the importance of responsive parenting for children's development, experimental designs are necessary to further researchers' understanding of a causal influence.…”