Dr. Leon Kuczynski, professor emeritus in the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, is featured in a BBC News story on how much, or how little, parents shape their children.

In the article, Kuczynski, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, says most parenting involves dealing with children’s non-compliance. But a child’s resistance is a sign of autonomy, which is a characteristic of all human beings, he said.

Recognizing children’s sense of agency can help parents acknowledge their child’s perspective and feel less pressure to assert their authority, he added.

A developmental psychologist, Kuczynski studies parent-child dynamics, socialization and parent-child relationships.