Parenting skills have improved during the coronavirus pandemic as mums and dads spend more time with their children, according to a new study.
Parents are currently having to, once again, balance work, housework, childcare even acting as teachers too with schools placed in lockdown.
Throughout the pandemic, parents have faced the challenges without the help of their regular support systems such as schools, childcare and family.
However new research says that the unexpected benefit of the pandemicis how the use of autonomy-supportive parenting has improved the positive well being of both children and parents.
This parenting style sees parents intentionally involve their children in making decisions and performing tasks, helping them to develop in ways that support their autonomy.
Study author Professor Andreas Neubauer is of the DIPF Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education in Germany.
He said: "We explored whether or not autonomy-supportive parental behaviour would facilitate adaptation and better child well-being.
"We also explored whether such parenting behaviour helps to create a positive emotional climate that benefits parents as well as children.
"Findings suggest autonomy-supportive parenting behaviour is positively associated both with better child well-being and higher parental need fulfilment."
According to the authors, such parenting behaviour requires parental energy and vitality, but it also contributes back to it.
Study participants were recruited from social media, a press release, and contacts to school and parent-teacher associations.
Researchers assessed parents of school children using online questionnaires over three weeks.
A total 970 parents filled in an online questionnaire after which they could opt to enrol in a second part of the study, in which 562 parents participated.
In the second part of the study, parents received 21 daily online questionnaires for three consecutive weeks.
Questions included "as far as possible, I let my child decide today what he or she wanted to do" or "as far as possible, my child was able to do what he or she liked today."
They also received a final questionnaire after the three weeks.
Parents were asked about their parenting behaviour, the extent to which their psychological needs were fulfilled and their child's well-being.
In addition, they were asked about their own well-being, how they perceived the family climate and their child's behaviour - once before the three-week period and once again at the end.
Study author Professor Florian Schmiedek, of the same institution, said: "Our findings from the daily questionnaires suggest that autonomy supportive parenting is beneficial for the well-being of both children and parents.
"Helping parents in their daily parental behaviour choices might be an effective way to improve the family climate and child wellbeing in a crisis like the Covid 19 pandemic."
The researchers recognise several limitations within the study such as only one aspect of autonomy-supported parentings was assessed.
They also highlighted that the questionnaire had previously only been used in adolescents, the reports were only obtained from the perspective of predominantly female parents, and a daily low compliance rate - however this was considered adequate given the demanding time period.
The findings were published in the journal Child Development.
