The Influence of Parenting Style on the Ability of Children to Empathize with their Peers

Abstract

The parenting style will have a subtle influence on children’s peer communication. Previous studies paid more attention to “the influence of mother’s parenting style on children’s empathic ability”. Thisstudy adopted a combination of questionnaire method and infant interview method to further explore the influence of different parenting styles on empathic ability between children and peers among 66 toddlers in Y Kindergarten in Fuzhou, Fujian Province. The results showed that authoritative parenting style was positively associated with empathy between toddlers and their peers, while authoritarian, permissive and dismissive parenting styles were negatively associated with empathy between toddlers and their peers. Authoritative parenting style, which is highly responsive and demanding, is associated with children’s ability to empathize with their peers, excluding inevitable factors such as society, family upheaval and physical impairments.