The mechanism by which parental supervision might protect children from injury appears to be at least twofold: (a) Parents overestimate children's ability less frequently than children themselves, suggesting supervising parents could intervene to prevent children from attempting dangerous activities; and (b) children judge their physical abilities more cautiously when parents are present. Implications for temperament theory and for injury prevention are discussed.
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D. C. Schwebel (2003) studied this question.