Mother-child Activities Research Articles

The relationship between parental involvement in education and children's academic/emotion profiles: A person-centered approach

The present study used a person-centered approach to identify academic/emotion profiles and examined whether different dimensions of parental involvement are associated with these profiles. Data were collected on 2323 children and their parents. Three student academic/emotion profiles were identified: High Achiever and Positive Emotion profile, Low Achiever and Moderate Emotion profile, and Average Achiever and Negative emotion profile. We found that mother monitoring, mother-child communication, mother-child activity and father-child activity can lead to more favorable child profiles, whereas mother learning assistance, mother-school contact, and father-school contact can result in a higher chance of children transitioning to risky profiles.

The association between maternal-child physical activity levels at the transition to formal schooling: cross-sectional and prospective data from the Southampton Women\u2019s Survey

BackgroundPhysical activity decreases through childhood, adolescence and into adulthood: parents of young children are particularly inactive, potentially negatively impacting their children’s activity levels. This study aimed to determine the association between objectively measured maternal and 6-year-old children’s physical activity; explore how this association differed by demographic and temporal factors; and identify change during the transition to school (from age 4–6).MethodsData were from the UK Southampton Women’s Survey. Physical activity of 530 6-year-olds and their mothers was measured concurrently using accelerometry for ≤7 days. Cross-sectionally, two-level mixed-effects linear regression was used to model the association between maternal-child daily activity behaviour at age 6 [minutes sedentary (SED); in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)]. Interactions with demographic factors and time of the week were tested; how the association differed across the day was also explored. Change in the association between maternal-child physical activity (from age 4–6) was assessed in a subset (n = 170) [outcomes: SED, MVPA and light physical activity (LPA)].ResultsMother-child daily activity levels were positively associated (SED: β = 0.23 [0.20, 0.26] minutes/day; MVPA: 0.53 [0.43, 0.64] minutes/day). The association was stronger at weekends (vs. weekdays) (interaction term: SED: βi = 0.07 [0.02, 0.12]; MVPA: 0.44 [0.24, 0.64]). For SED, the association was stronger for those children with older siblings (vs. none); for MVPA, a stronger association was observed for those who had both younger and older siblings (vs. none) and a weaker relationship existed in spring compared to winter. Longitudinally, the association between mother-child activity levels did not change for SED and LPA. At age 6 (vs. age 4) the association between mother-child MVPA was weaker across the whole day (βi: − 0.16 [− 0.31, − 0.01]), but remained similar at both ages between 3 and 11 pm.ConclusionsMore active mothers have more active 6-year-olds; this association was similar for boys and girls but differed by time of week, season and by age of siblings at home. Longitudinally, the association weakened for MVPA between 4 and 6 years, likely reflecting the differing activities children engage in during school hours and increased independence. Family-based physical activity remains an important element of children’s activity behaviour regardless of age. This could be exploited in interventions to increase physical activity within families.

The Relationship Between Parental Involvement and Children’s Self-Efficacy Profiles: A Person-Centered Approach

The present study used a person-centered approach to identify self-efficacy profiles in different domains (academic, emotional and social) and examined whether different dimensions of parental involvement were associated with these profiles. Data were collected on 1998 children. Five student self-efficacy profiles were identified: very low self-efficacy (low levels of all types of self-efficacy), low self-efficacy (low levels of all types of self-efficacy but higher than those in the “very low self-efficacy” profile), low emotional self-efficacy (relatively moderate levels of academic self-efficacy and social self-efficacy but very low emotional self-efficacy), moderate self-efficacy (moderate levels of all types of self-efficacy), and high self-efficacy (high levels of all types of self-efficacy). We also found that father’s and mother’s educational aspirations, father-child activity, mother-child activity and mother-child communication can lead to more favorable children profiles.

Arbeidsparticipatie van moeders en moeder-kind tijd - De invloed op het probleemgedrag van schoolgaande kinderen

The influence of mothers’ labor force participation and mother-child time on the problem behavior of school-aged children.This study examined whether mothers’ labor force participation was associated with children’s problem behavior and, more particularly, whether this association was mediated by mother-child time. We derived hypotheses from theories from sociology and psychology, such as social capital theory and attachment theory, hereby covering multiple viewpoints. Analyses were based on 1,276 children and their mothers from the American Child Development Supplement of the Study of Income Dynamics of 2002 and 2007. Results indicated that the direct influence of mothers’ labor force participation on children’s problem behavior was negligible. Moreover, although employed mothers reported fewer mother-child activities, overall they spent the same amount of time with their children.

Maternal Intimate Partner Violence and Increased Asthma Incidence in Children

To examine the relationship between maternal intimate partner violence (IPV) and asthma onset in children and the role of supportive caregiving factors in modifying this relationship. Prospective birth cohort. In-person interview at enrollment as well as in-home interviews during study follow-up. Children (N = 3116) enrolled in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Main Exposures Maternal report of IPV assessed after the child's birth and at 12 and 36 months. In addition, mothers indicated how many days a week they participated in activities with the child and the amount and type of educational/recreational toys available for the child. Main Outcome Measure Maternal report of physician-diagnosed asthma by age 36 months. Asthma was diagnosed in 19% of children. In adjusted analysis, children of mothers experiencing IPV chronically, compared with those not exposed, had a 2-fold increased risk of developing asthma. In stratified analysis, children of mothers experiencing IPV and low levels of mother-child activities (relative risk, 2.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.6-4.7) had a significant increased risk for asthma. Those exposed to IPV and high levels of mother-child activities had a lower risk for asthma (relative risk, 1.6; 95% confidence interval, 0.9-3.2). A similar buffering effect was noted among children with high numbers of educational/recreational toys. Intimate partner violence is associated with increased early childhood asthma risk. Maternal ability to maintain positive caregiving processes in this context may buffer the effects of violence on child asthma risk. The best way to promote positive health in toddlers may be to help their mothers.

The Role of Mother-Child Joint Play in the Early Development of Children's Conduct Problems: A Longitudinal Observational Study

This observational study examined the relationship between mother–child spontaneous joint play and the development of conduct problems in preschoolers, using a short-term longitudinal design. The sample consisted of 60 children showing a range of levels of conduct problems, recruited at their third birthday through community health services in low SES areas. Spontaneous joint play and other mother–child activities were coded from naturalistic, unstructured observations in the home. Amount of time spent in joint play at age 3 predicted individual improvement in conduct problems at age 4, and importantly, this association was independent of initial level of child conduct problems and hyperactivity, social class, maternal depression, and frequency of negative mother–child interactions. The amount of time the child spent unoccupied and not interacting with mother independently predicted worsening conduct scores over time. However, time spent in other activities, including joint conversation and solitary play did not predict change in conduct scores over time. The results suggest that positive and proactive parenting processes such as joint play may make a unique contribution to the very early development of conduct problems, independent of other risk factors. There was no evidence that this association was mediated by child factors such as hyperactivity and poor attention skills.

Linking maternal employment patterns to mother-child activities and children's school competence.

This study relates maternal employment patterns to shared mother-child activities and to school outcomes for 112 first graders. It examines a process model in which shared activities are a possible mechanism linking employement to child outcomes.