The Relationship between the Well-Being of Parents and Children

During their preschool years, children build and develop their optimism, which makes this an especially vital period in every individual's life. Within that developmental period in children's cognition, parents - as the most significant adults in their lives - exert a major impact on their level of optimistic/pessimistic thought. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the level of optimism in preschool children and their parents, and the relationship between the optimism of children and their parents. 328 parents of preschool children, of whom 173 were mothers and 155 fathers, and their 178 children from 10 towns in the Croatian counties of Zagreb, Karlovac and Koprivnica-Krizevci participated in the study. The study confirmed that there is a significant positive correlation between of parental optimism and life satisfaction and the happiness and attributional style of children. These findings are discussed within the framework of the significant parental role in the development of optimistic thought in their children, which in turn plays a major role in children's well-being. (C) 2015 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.uk