Skip to content
The Kids Research Institute Australia logo
Donate

No results yet

The impact of child self-regulation difficulties on parents: A qualitative study

The capacity for children to self-regulate is an important developmental task of early childhood, with caregivers playing an integral role in self-regulation development. While caregivers' emotions and behaviors are known to impact child self-regulatory capacity, the impact of child self-regulation difficulties on parents is less understood. 

Citation:
Fox C, Ohan JL, Penny J, Wells G, Downs J, Brinkman S, Finlay-Jones A. The impact of child self-regulation difficulties on parents: A qualitative study. Infant Ment Health J. 2026;47(1).

Keywords:
Child development; co‐regulation; mental health; parents; self‐regulation

Abstract:
The capacity for children to self-regulate is an important developmental task of early childhood, with caregivers playing an integral role in self-regulation development. While caregivers' emotions and behaviors are known to impact child self-regulatory capacity, the impact of child self-regulation difficulties on parents is less understood.