Parent–child synchrony refers to a style of face-to-face interaction that is reciprocal, balanced, smooth flowing, and mutually regulated. Engaging in synchrony appears to benefit the parent–child relationship as well as the child’s physiological, cognitive, and socioemotional development. Synchrony was originally used to describe harmonious interactions between mothers and their newborns but has since been observed to play a role for both mother–child and father–child dyads through adolescence, if not beyond. This entry describes the features and functions of parent–child synchrony across the child and adolescent periods of the life span.

Features and Functions of Parent–Child Synchrony

Synchrony is a dyadic construct; both parent and child contribute to an interaction being in sync or out of sync. Synchrony is attained when both interacting partners are focused on each ...

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