Children become more active participants in parent-child interaction by the time they reach primary school age, during the transition from dependence to greater autonomy. Parent-child interaction... Show moreChildren become more active participants in parent-child interaction by the time they reach primary school age, during the transition from dependence to greater autonomy. Parent-child interaction can shape children’s neurocognitive development, yet little is known about the nature of this relation in school-aged children. In this dissertation the associations between parent-child interaction and four- to eight-year-old children’s attentional control, executive functioning , social cognition and reasoning skills were investigated. Furthermore, it was investigated whether parents can be educated to improve interactions with their child through a compact psycho-educational program. It can be concluded that parental supportive presence, intrusiveness and questioning style adaptive to both the age and needs of school-aged children were associated with children’s neurocognitive functioning. Educating parents to adaptively modify their parent-child interactions can positively influence their supportive presence, intrusiveness and questioning style, which in turn may benefit their child’s neurocognitive functioning. These findings suggest that educating parents can benefit children’s neurocognitive development and the aspects of parenting strategies investigated in this dissertation could be useful objectives. A compact school-based group program for parents may already have a meaningful impact in promoting aspects of parent-child interaction that have been shown to be associated with children’s neurocognitive development. Show less
For decades children with moderate hearing loss (MHL) were “forgotten children”. Most research focused on deaf children and the needs of children with MHL were underestimated. Children with MHL... Show moreFor decades children with moderate hearing loss (MHL) were “forgotten children”. Most research focused on deaf children and the needs of children with MHL were underestimated. Children with MHL have inconsistent access to linguistic input and social-emotional experiences and that place them at risk for developmental difficulties. In the present thesis the psychosocial functioning of toddlers with moderate hearing loss was examined within the context of the caregiving environment. No risk factors were found in the parent-child affective domain: Toddlers with MHL were affected by the emotions of others, they were affectively available to their parents and their parents to them, and their parents did not feel more parental stress than parents of toddlers without hearing loss. Challenges were found in the domain of meaningful social interactions: Toddlers with MHL had more difficulties in understanding the intentions of others and exchanged fewer social-communicative signals. The episodes of joint engagement during parent-child interactions were briefer and parents used less rich language during these interactions than parents of toddlers without hearing loss. To overcome these challenges parents could ready storybooks with their children. An interactive reading program for parents of toddlers with hearing loss showed to be effective in increasing joint engagement. Show less
Raising a child is no easy task. Nevertheless Dutch parents do not get offered help with childrearing untill they ask for it or demonstrable problems have developed – at the expense of the child.... Show moreRaising a child is no easy task. Nevertheless Dutch parents do not get offered help with childrearing untill they ask for it or demonstrable problems have developed – at the expense of the child. Particularly parents with ‘excess bagage’ – for instance a troubled childhood, personal problems or a small social network – may benefit from preventive childrearing support to avoid psychosocial problems in their children or even child maltreatment. Such support, consisting of six homevisits during the first 18 months after birth, provided to families with an increased risk for childrearing difficulties by a trained nurse from a Well Baby Clinic has been researched in this study. Through a brief questionnaire 14% of all 9000 parents were found to be at risk. A total of 500 families participated, half of them received home visits, the other half received regular care. After two years both parents and children display better outcomes due to the home visits and the risk for child maltreatment has decreased. One mother said: “It is liberating to discuss your problems with a stranger in the safe environment of your own home. I am now seeing a psychologist which has very positive consequences both for me ánd my family”. Show less
