Parenting Young Children: The Interplay Between Mothers' and Fathers' Daily Behaviors and Well-Being

This dyadic study distinguishes parents' general well-being (overall life satisfaction) from parental well-being (satisfaction specific to the parenting role) and examines how each relates to daily beneficial parenting behaviors in mother-father couples. Guided by the Parenting Pentagon Model (PPM), five behavioral constructs-Partnership, Leadership, Expressions of Love, Encouraging Independence, and Adherence to Rules-were assessed in 170 Israeli parents (85 mother-father dyads) of children aged 6 months to 9 years. Parents reported frequent beneficial parenting, with Expressions of Love the most prevalent and Encouraging Independence and Adherence to Rules the least frequent. Mothers reported significantly higher Expressions of Love than fathers (p < 0.01), with no gender differences for the other PPM constructs. Across both parents, higher engagement in beneficial parenting behaviors was consistently associated with higher levels of both general and parental well-being (actor effects), with stronger associations for mothers than fathers. Partner effects showed a clear gender asymmetry: fathers' parenting behaviors were positively associated with mothers' general and parental well-being, whereas mothers' behaviors were not consistently associated with fathers' well-being. In addition, a larger number of children was negatively associated with mothers' parental well-being. Overall, the findings highlight the relevance of daily parenting behaviors for parents' own well-being and underscore the relational nature of parenting, with fathers' behaviors playing a particularly salient role in mothers' well-being within families of young children.