Introduction: Several studies have shown that parenting characterized by sensitivity, protection, attachment and affectivity contributes not only to socioemotional and learning processes, but also to the development of executive functions in childhood. Despite this evidence, there are inconsistencies about the effect of specific parental skills on the development of these higher cognitive skills in children. The aim of this study was to determine the predictive capacity of relational, formative, protective and reflective parenting skills on the development of the executive functions of cognitive and behavioral inhibition and cognitive flexibility in children aged 6 to 8 years. Method: 91 dyads of parents/caregivers and their children were evaluated, using a positive parenting scale for adults and three executive tasks for children. Descriptive analyses, correlations and regression models were performed. Results: The results indicate that relational and formative parental skills explain cognitive and behavioral inhibition performance but have no significant influence on cognitive flexibility. Conclusions: These results emphasize the role of parenting practices in the cognitive development of children, providing relevant information on the importance of enhancing parental skills associated with positive parenting.

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Keywords:
Parental competencies, parenting, executive functions, cognitive flexibility, inhibition

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