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Parents who view everyday tasks as opportunities for their children to learn are less likely to intervene in their child’s activities, a new study from Yale University suggests. The research, published in the journal Child Development on November 21, highlights the importance of allowing young children to complete simple tasks independently to promote their development of essential life skills such as self-efficacy and autonomy.
Overparenting, which occurs when adults excessively intervene in tasks that children could manage on their own, has become an increasingly recognized issue. While overparenting may stem from a desire to help, studies have shown that it can diminish children’s motivation to tackle challenges and develop critical problem-solving skills.
The Yale study, led by Reut Shachnai, a graduate student in Yale’s Department of Psychology, found that reframing tasks like getting dressed as opportunities for learning significantly reduced parents’ interference. In fact, parental intervention dropped by about 50% when parents were prompted to view such tasks as learning opportunities rather than chores.
“When an adult steps in and completes a task for a young child, it can deprive the child of an opportunity to learn how to complete the task by themselves,” said Shachnai. “This potentially harms their ability to develop important life skills like self-efficacy and autonomy.”
The study explored how parents perceive tasks as learning opportunities in three phases. In the first phase, researchers surveyed 77 parents of 4- and 5-year-olds to better understand their perceptions of children’s learning and their own parenting behaviors. The survey revealed that parents were less likely to intervene in tasks they saw as providing greater learning opportunities, such as academic activities like solving puzzles or tracing letters, compared to more mundane chores like getting dressed.
The second phase of the study involved an experiment at a children’s museum in Philadelphia. In this test, 30 parent-child pairs were asked to have their children dress in hockey gear, a task that was challenging but well within the children’s abilities. Some parents were told that dressing up allowed their children to develop important lifelong skills, while others were simply informed that the activity helped engage with the museum.
The results showed that parents who viewed the task as a learning opportunity were half as likely to intervene, reducing the number of actions they took to help their children dress from 8.6 to 4.4. Additionally, these parents provided more positive encouragement and feedback, reinforcing their child’s effort.
The final phase of the study tested whether parents’ perceptions of the task influenced their behavior. In this case, parents were told either that dressing up was an important learning opportunity or just a minor chance to learn about hockey gear. The researchers found no significant difference between the two groups—parents reduced their interventions in both cases when they viewed the task as a learning opportunity.
“Even small everyday tasks can be powerful learning moments,” said Julia Leonard, assistant professor of psychology at Yale and senior author of the study. “Our findings suggest that reframing tasks as learning opportunities can boost children’s independence and resilience while reducing overparenting.”
The study’s co-authors include Mika Asaba, a postdoctoral fellow at Yale, and Lingyan Hu, a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. Together, they emphasize the importance of reframing tasks to help foster children’s growth and independence.
For parents, the researchers recommend a simple approach: before intervening, consider the potential learning opportunities a task offers and let children take the lead. This small shift in perspective can help reduce overparenting and support children in becoming more independent and confident in their abilities.
Citation: Reut Shachnai et al, Pointing out learning opportunities reduces overparenting, Child Development (2024). DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14198.
