The effect of parenting styles on children’s risk perception on roads

Abstract

Although there is evidence of a significant impact of the family on children's safety and risky behaviors, few studies have examined this issue in detail. Children under the age of 10, although they rarely participate in traffic completely independently, are a vulnerable population from a traffic safety perspective. In addition to the number of children who die in incidents, some of them suffer from lifelong disabilities. Besides various educational methods and making safe school zones, there is a need to pay attention to the impact of parents on children's understanding of traffic safety. In this study, the effect of parent on children's perception of safety and danger on roads is investigated. For this purpose, through an interview, children aged 6-9 years were asked to identify 11 unsafe traffic behaviors. Parenting styles and demographic information were collected from their parents through a questionnaire. The results showed that children's risk perception is related to age, gender, and socio-economic status. In addition, children's ability to perceive risk is associated with negative parenting styles (corporal punishment and poor monitoring). The results of this study highlight the effects of parents' education on children's awareness of road safety. The importance of parenting styles and other factors affecting children's understanding of traffic risks should be informed to families. It is also important to establish the necessary infrastructure to increase children's safety by promoting parenting skills through beneficial policies and holding training workshops for parents.