I Think He Is in His Room Playing a Video Game: Parental Supervision of Young Elementary-School Children at Home

Objectives Using a prospective design, this research examined supervision of young elementary-school children at home and how this relates to child injury, parent permissiveness, and children's risk-taking propensity. Methods Mothers reported children's history of injuries and recorded home supervision over a 2-month interval on a weekly basis. Children independently completed diaries about daily events, including injuries. Results Children spent 24% of time alone, mostly supervised intermittently or not at all. Parent permissiveness was associated with increased time unsupervised, while children's risk-taking propensity was associated with decreased time unsupervised. Greater direct supervision was associated with fewer injuries, while more indirect and non-supervision time emerged as risk factors and were associated with more frequent injury. Conclusions These results extend those from preschool-aged children and suggest that caregiver supervision influences risk of injury across a broad age range throughout childhood. Implications for children's safety are discussed.