Final answer:
Parental attitude refers to how parents interact with their preschool children and shapes their development. Authoritative parenting, characterized by warmth and reasonable limits, is associated with positive outcomes in children. However, an over-controlling parental attitude can hinder a child's ability to show initiative, potentially leading to guilt and low self-esteem.
Step-by-step explanation:
Parental Attitude in Preschool Development
Parental attitude refers to the approach and responses parents adopt while raising their children. An important framework for understanding these attitudes comes from the work of Diana Baumrind, who developed a theory describing four parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved. The way parents interact with their preschool children can strongly influence the child's development, including their political beliefs, self-concept, and socioemotional growth, as well as their overall adjustment in later stages of life.
Parents who exhibit an over-controlling nature may impede their child's ability to resolve the task of initiative versus guilt, as posited by Erikson. This lack of initiative can lead to feelings of guilt and a lack of self-confidence in children. Meanwhile, Baumrind suggests that authoritative parenting, characterized by reasonable demands and consistent limits paired with warmth and affection, is most conducive to a child developing high self-esteem and social skills, particularly within American society. However, effective parenting styles can vary across cultures.
Temperament also plays a role in this dynamic; certain innate temperament traits may influence a parent's attitudes and actions. Positive child outcomes, such as good grades and fewer school behavior problems, have been associated with warm and healthy parent-child relationships. However, it's also important to note that as children reach adolescence, they begin to assert more independence, often looking to their peer group for social cues while maintaining overall positive feelings towards their parents.