INTRODUCTION Parental beliefs and attitudes are regarded as filters through which the behavior of the infant is channeled and the thoughts and ideas of the parents are mutually regulated with the infant (Miller, 1998). Parents are architects of nations future “The Children”. They shape the future generations thereby causing some to lead, some to revolt, some to accept and follow and subjugate (Sharma, 1999). It is through his parents eyes that the child sees the world and these eyes need to have a clear vision or the child’s worldview will be blurred. Parents and parenting are important part of the child’s ecology. Child rearing practices shape the develop- ment niche of the child. Super and Harkness (1986) in their article 1 Parental Ethno theories in action¨ gave three factors which form the develop- mental niche, namely: • The physical and social setting in which the child lives; • Culturally regulated customs of child-care and child-rearing; and • The psychology of the care-takers. Research on family influence has consistently shown that parent-child relation is a central factor in children’s social development (Demo et al., 1987; Geccas and Schwalbe, 1986; MacDonald and Parke, 1984). In a non-western study, Cheung and Lau (1985) have shown that a good relation- ship with parents is associated most noticeably with higher self-esteem in Chinese adolescents. In contrast, children who have relatively poor relations with their parents show more malad- justed and delinquent development (Dornbusch et al., 1987; Rollins and Thomas, 1979). The relationship with the primary care-giver may serve as a major source of support or stress in a pres- chool year (Dumas et al., 1993). In terms of time spent with the child, the mother has more opportunities than the father to influence her offsprings psychological growth and behavior. Tradition also favors the mother’s influence since child rearing in Indian culture is generally recognized as primarily the mother’s privilege and responsibility. The present research focuses on maternal beliefs of Dogra mother’s of Jammu and their child’s percieved competence in pre-school. The relationship between the mother and the child is an important factor, which determines the personality traits of the child in the later years, and it also affects the mental health of the child. The objectives of the present research are: (i) to study beliefs of mothers of preschoolers regarding: (a) spoiling the child/warmth and affection (b) floor freedom (c) discipline and control (d) organization of the environment (ii) to know about the child’s perceived competence in preschool (iii) to find out the relation between the maternal beliefs and child’s perceived competence in preschool. METHODOLOGY Sample Selection: The sample for the present study comprises of 30 preschool children and their mothers from the urban areas of Jammu city of the Jammu and Kashmir State. Purposive sampling technique was used for the selection of the sample. The mothers were approached through the schools in which their wards study. Tools Used: Tools used for the study were: • Modified Parental Belief Survey. • Rating Scale to measure child’s perceived competence © Kamla-Raj 2004 J. Hum. Ecol., 15(2): 153-156 (2004) Maternal Beliefs of Dogra Mothers of Jammu and Their Child’s Percieved Competence in Pre-school Neeru Sharma, Ruchira Sapru and Payal Gupta Table 1: Background information 1. Age Range 27-36 years 2. Educational Graduate Post Graduate Qualification 19 11 3. Socio-Economic Middle Status 4. Employment Working Non Working Status 9 21 Modified Parental Belief Survey: This scale was used to explore parental beliefs regarding effective and appropriate child-rearing practices. The scale used by Singh (1992), Department of Human Development, at Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, was adapted to suit the setting for the study. The 3- point scale is divided