Influence of parenting styles on development of children aged three to six years old

Objective: To investigate the influences of parenting styles on development of children aged three to six years. Material and Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 360 children and their parents selected by multi-stage random sampling. The data were collected from July 24^th to August 31^st, 2004. The Denver II test kit and the scale by Baumrind D were used to test the child development and parenting styles respectively. A questionnaire was used to collect the family and child factors. Data were analyzed by frequency distribution and Multiple logistic regression with the significant level set at p-value of <0.05). Results: Parenting styles had significant influences on child development (p-value < 0.05). Children raised with a mixed parenting style had a 1.9 times higher chance of having delayed development compared with those with democratic parenting style. In addition, significant family and child factors for explaining child development were family type, mother's education, father's occupation, relationship within the family, nutritional status and sex. Conclusion: Parenting styles had a significant influence on child development. The children raised with mixed parenting style had a 1.9 times higher chance of having delayed development compared to those whose parents used democratic parenting style. Therefore, the parents should rear their children by using the democratic parenting style that leads to the age-appropriate development child.