One of the most important questions facing parents is what level of control promotes the greatest development of self-regulation in children. Kopp (1987) defined self-regulation as an abstraction that subsumes behaviors as diverse as compliance, delay of gratification, control of impulses and affect, modulation of motor and linguistic activities, and ability to act in accordance with social norms in the absence of social monitors. It is quite clear to understand that a self-regulated child is well adjusted in all areas from the classroom to the recess yard. This theory leaves mothers to question what level of control is appropriate in rearing a well-adjusted child.

Research on the topic of maternal control and self-regulation in children is plentiful. During the course of research for my own study, I found three studies in which I choose to base my study on that are clearly related and supported by the same theoretical ideas.

Hudson & Blane (1985) studied mother and child communication in reference to compliance issues. They videotaped interactions between eight mothers and their noncompliance c

Schaffer and Crook also studied child compliance and maternal control techniques in 1980. This study involved the observance of twenty-four children aged fifteen months and twenty-four months with their mothers in a directed play situation. Mothers were asked to take an active role by ensuring that the children played with the full range of toys available. The children's responses to the mothers' control directives were assessed in terms of three types of compliance: orientation, contact and task compliance. Differences in the overall rate for these three were examined. Considerable variations occurred in compliance rate according to the type of response requires. Maternal controls were most likely to succeed if they formed part of a sequential attention-action strategy designed to manipulate the child's involvement state. The findings bear on a view of socialization that stresses the mutuality of the parent-child relationship. They also have implications for the concept and the assessment of compliance.

Observation of a child-mother conflict was made during toy cleanup, which was the final interactive activity of the home and laboratory visit. The cleanup followed a brief (approximately 5 minute) free-play session. Upon a signal from the experimenter, the mother was instructed to initiate cleanup by asking her child to place the toys in a large basket or on shelves of a bookcase. Mothers in the strong control subdivision were instructed to voice a verbal command to clean up from a standing position every 15 seconds and do nothing else. Mothers in the moderate control group were asked to voice a verbal command kneeling by their child every minute. In addition, the

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