Young children who were more sensitive to praise from their parents had fewer behavioral and emotional problems between ages 5 and 7.
- Children’s behavior is strongly influenced by psychosocial factors, such as parental praise and stress, their mood, and their sleep.
- Children who are more responsive to parental praise at age 3 have fewer internalizing and externalizing problems between ages 5 and 7.
- Child sensitivity to mood also predicts fewer behavioral and emotional problems.
“Children are more or less sensitive to experiences, which has consequences for their development,” According to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania (USA). In a new study, they wanted to examine how behavioral sensitivity at age 3 predicts mental health in middle childhood. Using a novel repeated measures design, they calculated children’s sensitivity to multiple psychological and social influences: parental praise, parental stress, children’s mood, and children’s sleep.
Note the amount of praise parents gave while brushing children’s teeth
In detail, the scientists recruited 60 children. Their parents sent videos of the toddlers at age 3 brushing their teeth every night for 16 days. Toothbrushing time was used to measure the child’s behavior. The researchers also recorded the amount of praise parents gave while brushing and collected parental feedback on additional factors, including the child’s mood. Childhood sensitivity to psychosocial influences was conceptualized as the strength and direction of the relationship between the child’s behavior and these influences, including parental praise. When their children were 3 years old, and again between ages 5 and 7, parents completed the preschool version of the Child Behavior Checklist to identify behavioral and emotional problems.
Children’s sensitivity to praise may affect their mental health later in life
According to the results, published in the journal Developmental Sciencechildren who were more responsive to parental praise at age 3 had fewer internalizing and externalizing problems in middle childhood. The more praise parents gave, the fewer externalizing problems children had. Youngsters whose behavior was not dependent on their mood also had fewer behavioral and emotional problems later. “Our next goal is to understand how childhood sensitivity to praise develops and whether it can be shaped by interventions,” concluded Cassidy McDermott, lead author of the work, in a statement.