Parents in rural, low-income households who maintained strong family routines reported fewer behavior problems and ADHD symptoms in their children.
Starting elementary school is an important step for children, but the shift can be challenging. Some children experience separation anxiety, while others have difficulty adjusting to classroom rules and daily school structure. A Penn State-led research team found that steady routines at home may make children less likely to struggle during this transition.
In a study published in Developmental Psychology, researchers found that rural, low-income families with stronger routines, including consistent bedtimes and shared meals, reported fewer child behavior problems and fewer attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. The benefits of household structure were weaker, however, when parents used more harsh or aggressive parenting, including yelling or threatening by either the mother or father.
“You need routines, but you cannot be overly rigid about them,” said co-author Lisa Gatzke-Kopp, professor and head of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State. “I always say the two most important things for parenting are consistency and flexibility. It may sound like a contradiction, but these results indicate that balance really matters.”
Families were followed over years
The researchers studied data from 999 rural, low-income families in North Carolina and Pennsylvania who took part in the Family Life Project, a long-running collaboration among Penn State, the University of North Carolina, and New York University. Families entered the project when a child was born, and the larger study followed that group of children until they reached age 19.
For the current analysis, the team used three rounds of data beginning in 2007 to 2008, when the children were about four years old. These assessments followed children through preschool, kindergarten, and first grade, allowing researchers to examine the transition into primary school. Each year, parents answered questions about family routines, harsh parenting, child behavior problems, and child ADHD symptoms. At the beginning of the study, researchers also assessed parents’ cognitive flexibility, meaning their ability to adjust their thinking to a specific or changing situation.
Parents completed surveys about harsh parenting, including questions on yelling, swearing, throwing things, leaving the room in anger and other aggressive actions. They also reported on child behavior problems, including aggression, opposition, and rule breaking, as well as child ADHD symptoms, including signs of inattention and hyperactivity or impulsivity. Parents also answered questions about routines involving bedtime, regular family meals, and household schedules.
Harsh parenting weakened routine benefits
Parents in families that had strong routines and low levels of harsh parenting throughout the study reported fewer child behavior problems and ADHD symptoms. In families where harsh parenting varied from year to year, child ADHD symptoms were lower during periods when parents reported less harsh parenting.
The researchers explained that harsh parenting reduced the protective benefit of family routines. Children in homes with both high routine and high harsh parenting showed behavior problems similar to children in homes with low routine.
Parents with greater cognitive flexibility were also less likely to use harsh parenting.
“Children are trying to figure out how the world works,” said Gatzke-Kopp, a Penn State Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty member. “The more consistent and supportive their environment is, the easier it is for children to remain calm and understand how to behave in a new setting, like school.”
Small rituals can add structure
For parents who want to create more structure at home, Gatzke-Kopp suggested a steady bedtime routine that includes calming activities such as reading with the child. She also pointed to regular, low-pressure, screen-free family time and shared meals as useful ways for parents to build routine into daily life.
The effects of each factor identified in the study were small, but Gatzke-Kopp said that was not surprising.
“You can’t assume that if you establish good routines, your child will have perfect behaviors,” Gatzke-Kopp said. “There are a lot of things that influence whether your child has behavior problems, and routines and parenting style are only part of the picture.”
Every family will experience some conflict, she continued.
“All children can be difficult,” Gatzke-Kopp explained. “Parents should be reassured that negative behaviors do not mean your child has a problem. And it does not mean the parents are doing anything wrong.”
Reference: “The interplay between family routines and aggressive parenting in predicting externalizing problems during the transition to primary school” by Z. Li, X. Zhang, K. M. Witmer, M. T. Willoughby and L. M. Gatzke-Kopp, 2026, Developmental Psychology.
DOI: 10.1037/dev0002132
Disclosure: The Family Life Project is a flagship initiative of the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center.
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