Analysis of the parental control behaviors of the parents with preschool children

The aim of this study is to examine the parental control behaviors of parents who have preschool children according to both parental statements and children's perceptions. Parental control behaviors were examined in three categories as behavioral control, psychological control and physical control behaviors by examining the relevant literature. The research consists of two stages. In the first stage, the control behaviors of the parents were examined based on the parental statements, through interviews with 60 parent couples. In the first stage of the study, demographic information form and semi-structured interview form created by the researchers were used. The obtained data were analyzed with the content analysis method. According to the results, it was determined that the parents mostly stated that they showed behavioral control. In the second stage of the study, parental control behaviors which by 60-72 months old children attending a pre-school education institution perceived were examined using the story completion method. In the second stage of the research, as data collection tools demographic information form and story roots to be completed about nine different situations were used. The stories used were created by examining the situations that parents frequently repeated and the codes obtained in the first stage. 200 children between 60 and 72 months attending pre-school education institutions in Balıkesir Province participated in the second phase of the study. The results indicate that the parents of the children mostly showed behavioral control, but the parental control behaviors changed depending on the situations in the stories. According to the answers given by the children, behavioral control is followed by psychological and physical control behavior. When the children's answers to the stories were examined, it was concluded that more than one parental control behavior was observed at the same time.