Give children more autonomy during the pandemic, says study

This did not prevent the team from deriving valid conclusions.At the end of the 3 weeks, the parents completed one final questionnaire capturing their feelings about their children’s behavior, their own sense of well-being, and the family’s overall emotional state.According to study co-author Florian Schmiedek, also of the Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education, “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 behavior choices might be an effective way to improve the family climate and child well-being in a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.”The study also found that autonomy-based parenting improved family cohesion, with parents experiencing enhanced vitality and a reduction in stress.“In sum,” the study authors conclude, “autonomy-supportive behavior might have positive downstream effects not only on the receiving child, but also on the social system (the family) and the support provider — also in challenging times as during the [coronavirus] crisis.”In this Special Feature, we look at some of the best coping strategies that our readers have been using during this pandemic, and we explain why they…Taking care of mental health can be challenging for pregnant women during the COVID-19 crisis.