Parents stop supporting your child's negative emotions

Washington: Dear parents, you may have to stop favouring your child in every situation, as according to a study, mothers supporting their child's negative emotions may impact their social adjustment and social interaction in school.

According to a study, mothers, who are more supportive of their children's negative emotions, rate their children as being more socially skilled and these same children appear less socially adjusted when rated by teachers. Specifically, mothers' supportive reactions predicted fewer socio-emotional skills and more behaviour problems, according to children's third-grade teachers.

These contrasting patterns suggest a potential downside to mothers' supportiveness of children's negative emotions for third-grade children's social adjustment in school. Co-author of the study Dr. Vanessa Castro said that it's not clear, if the parents are causing these problems by hovering or providing too much support when less support is needed or if the parents are rightfully providing more support because their children are experiencing these social and emotional problems, or if the children are exhibiting very different emotional and social behaviors at home than they are at school.

The findings suggest that is may be helpful for parents to consider other strategies to guide their children to develop their own skills in emotion regulation and social interaction. The study is presented in the journal of Social Development.