PARENTS are solely influenced by their mother’s parenting style, a scientific study has revealed.
The way mothers and fathers interact with their children resembles their own mother’s parenting behaviour, with fathers’ parenting styles not making any difference to how their children parent.
Parents whose mothers showed more affection displayed more positive parenting behaviour with their own children while those with more controlling mothers showed more negative parenting behaviour.
The parenting behaviour of parents’ fathers was not associated with how parents interacted with their children.
Researchers at Imperial College London filmed 292 parents –146 mothers and 146 fathers – interacting with their young children. They then used questionnaires to record their opinions of the quality of parenting they received.
The research found that the mothers of both mums and dads affected how these parents interacted with their own children.
Warm and supportive parenting is associated with academic achievement, psychosocial development and emotional stability.
Meanwhile, harsh parenting is associated with child aggression and conduct problems. The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust, is published in the European Journal of Public Health.
Study author Dr Paul Ramchandani, from the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London, said: “Parent- ing plays a fundamental role in children’s development. It affects health, social and educational outcomes in later life.
“Because of this, it is of utmost importance to society that we have a greater understanding of the complex issue of parenting behaviour.”
The participants were recruited from maternity wards in Oxford and Milton Keynes, and followed up for two years from the birth of their child.
Lead author Dr Vaishnavee Madden said: “The results should be interpreted with caution because of the various limitations of the study.
“The findings suggest that interventions to help parents be more engaged and responsive could have longer-term benefits that aren’t currently appreciated.”