“Parenting stress is a specific type of stress that arises from the demands of the parenting role, occurring when the requirements of parenting exceed the perceived resources available to meet those requirements.” — Abidin, R. R. (1995). Parenting Stress Index: Professional Manual (3rd ed.). Psychological Assessment Resources.
A study published in September 2025 gathered data from 3,166 parents of preschoolers in Sichuan Province, China using the Abidin Parenting Stress Index (PSI) short form. Researchers found that parenting stress negatively predicted preschool children’s social-emotional competence. In other words, when parents feel ill-equipped to meet their child’s emotional and wellbeing needs, the child’s ability to perceive, understand, and regulate emotions, establish positive relationships and adapt effectively to social environments is diminished. Reflective parenting, also known as the use of mindsight, was found to significantly improve children’s social-emotional competence.
A 2025 longitudinal study of 1,201 Chinese preschoolers (mean age 3.9 years) similarly found that the quality of the parent-child relationship mediated the link between mindful parenting and children’s internalising behaviours (such as anxiety and withdrawal) one year later.
A 2015 longitudinal study drawing on the United Kingdom’s Medical Research Council’s National Survey of Health and Development found that higher perceived parental care and lower psychological control were associated with greater wellbeing across multiple life stages. The same pattern held for both mother-child and father-child relationships, underlining the lasting impact of early relational quality on adult wellbeing.
And most relevant to schools, a 2011 study of primary students in Beijing found that a positive parent-child relationship predicted a stronger teacher-student relationship, which in turn predicted greater learning motivation. In short, when the parent-child relationship improves, children learn better.
These are just a few of countless studies linking parent-child relationships to student socio-emotional wellbeing; a cornerstone of every school’s safeguarding framework and the goal of every social-emotional learning (SEL) education program.
From Research to Practice: A Case Study
Kyuna Kindergarten is an international daycare, nursery, and kindergarten in Nairobi, Kenya. The school serves around 130 students aged 1 to 6, representing over 40 nationalities. During the 2024-2025 school year, I was invited to design and deliver a series of workshops for both parents and staff, translating research into practical application within a culturally diverse, globally mobile community.
The workshop series focused on three key areas:
Understanding the developing brain: reframing behavior as communication rather than defiance and helping adults recognise stress responses in children (and in themselves).
Building emotionally secure relationships: exploring connection through presence, attunement, and repair and understanding the role of parental regulation in fostering child regulation.
Responding to challenging behavior using emotional intelligence tools and the Read-Reflect-Redirect Framework: introducing practical tools for co-regulation, setting boundaries without control-based tactics, and managing adult stress to prevent escalation.
For staff, the focus was on recognizing emotional needs beneath behavior, using relational language in the classroom and supporting consistency between school and home. For parents, the emphasis was on connection before correction, an approach rooted in neuroscience and attachment theory.
Throughout the year, parents reported feeling more confident in reading their children’s cues, remaining calm during emotional outbursts and responding with empathy rather than reactivity. Teachers noticed similar shifts in the classroom: Quicker recovery from meltdowns, greater cooperation and more positive student-teacher relationships. Parents were also more open to further support as needed and sought out parenting input when they felt ill equipped to deal with new parenting challenges.
The aim was not to “fix” children’s behavior but to equip the adults around them with awareness and skill thereby creating the conditions in which emotional regulation, resilience, and learning could thrive.
Why This Matters for International Schools
“Safeguarding is the proactive process of promoting the welfare of children and protecting them from harm - including preventing impairment of health or development, ensuring they grow up with safe and effective care and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.”
— Adapted from the United Kingdom Department for Education, Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023).
Safeguarding is not limited to managing immediate risks. It is equally about prevention and long-term socioemotional wellbeing, primarily through improved SEL. Promoting simple interventions through external expertise is one of the most effective ways to strengthen parent–child relationships leading to enhanced student socioemotional wellbeing.
International schools serve uniquely complex populations. Children may feel untethered after a move, adjusting to new cultures and expectations while lacking the familiar anchors of community. Many have access to adult-level resources online, and the combination of privilege, mobility, and isolation can quietly amplify emotional and behavioral risks.
In such contexts, parental stress can escalate, not because parents care less, but because they often have fewer informal support systems. Extended family, familiar networks and long-term friendships (the scaffolding that helps parents and children stay grounded) are often missing. Without this support, the parent–child relationship itself becomes both the anchor and the pressure point.
Schools like Kyuna Kindergarten have shown leadership by recognizing that student wellbeing cannot be addressed in isolation from family wellbeing. The delicate balance between supporting families and respecting parental autonomy is real, yet it is entirely possible to strengthen both school and home by working in partnership.
By engaging SEL specialists, Kyuna was able to offer parents evidence-based insight and practical strategies without the perception of “interference.” The initiative created space for reflection and growth – not only for parents, but also for teachers who gained a deeper understanding of the children in their care.
Aligning School and Home for Sustainable Wellbeing
When school and home speak the same relational language, children experience coherence. Their emotional world becomes more predictable and learning flourishes. The benefits ripple outward to classrooms, playgrounds, and family life. Ultimately, safeguarding is not just about protecting children from harm but about creating environments in which they can develop with confidence, curiosity, and emotional security. For international schools, this means recognizing that wellbeing begins at home but that in their context that poses unique challenges. By supporting parents, schools support students in the most enduring way possible.
Anthi Patrikios is a certified master parent coach and parent–child relationship specialist with more than 25 years of experience in education across 25 countries. She is a former International Baccalaureate chemistry and global politics teacher and pastoral leader. Originally from Greece, Anthi lives abroad with her husband, an English learning support teacher, and their son.
Instagram: @anthipatrikios
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthi-patrikios/
Jemo Ergen is the head teacher at Kyuna Kindergarten. She has more than 18 years of experience teaching at the primary level with the last 15 years spent overseas in the United Arab Emerites, Uganda, and Kenya. Her expertise is in creating a school environment that is community centred and promotes wellbeing as a key factor in student learning and safeguarding.
Email: [email protected]
