Parent-Child Relationship and the Link to Self-Control

In my latest post on Notes on Parenting, I discuss research that illustrates the important link between a close, mutually responsive parent-child relationship and a child’s development of self-control. We all know that self-control is an essential skill for children to learn for their own well-being as well as their success in school and life. Perhaps equally important is the fact that these close parent-child relationships also make it less likely that parents will use forceful discipline tactics such as corporal punishment. This is especially relevant in light of the recent well-publicized “real-time” study of spanking.