Studies have demonstrated the association between parenting style and children's academic achievement, but the specific mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. The development of skills that lay the foundation for academic success might be found in early parent-child interactions that foster language competence. Early negative…

This study investigated mothers' and fathers' language use in dyadic and triadic contexts. Specific attention was paid to factors associated with the quantity and quality of mother and father language use in triadic settings. Sixty-three predominantly middle-class, two-parent families with toddlers (age 16 to 37 months) participated. Mother-child…

Background: Building on reports that parental maltreatment and neglect adversely affect young children's executive function (EF), this longitudinal study examined whether exposure to a more common risk factor, mothers' depressive symptoms, predicted individual differences in EF at school-age. Methods: We followed up at age 6 a socially diverse…

In this study, observed maternal positive engagement and perception of work-family spillover were examined as mediators of the association between maternal nonstandard work schedules and children's expressive language outcomes in 231 African American families living in rural households. Mothers reported their work schedules when their child was 24…

To date, much of the research investigating maternal-child discourse has focused on the preschool period of children's development, with little attention paid to how these styles develop. The current study aimed to assess whether maternal elaborative discourse elements seen in preschool are also evident during the toddler years, and whether the…

This study investigated the potential effects of cochlear implantation and age at implantation on maternal interactional sensitivity. Three groups of dyads were studied at two points over 1 year. The hearing aid (HA) group wore hearing aids throughout the study, the early cochlear implanted (ECI) group were implanted prior to 22 months of age, and…

This study examined the longitudinal association between marital instability and child sleep problems at ages 9 and 18 months in 357 families with a genetically unrelated infant adopted at birth. This design eliminates shared genes as an explanation for similarities between parent and child. Structural equation modeling indicated that T1 marital…

Prosocial behavior in early childhood is a precursor to later adaptive social functioning. This investigation leveraged mother-reported, physiological, and observational data to examine children's prosocial development from age 2 to age 4 (N = 125). Maternal emotion socialization (ES) strategies and children's parasympathetic regulation have each…

An attempt was made in the present study to identify mothers' and caregivers' teaching (mediation) behaviour in relation to toddlers' social behaviour. Participants were 103 toddlers, two- to four-year olds, their mothers, and 28 caregivers at 16 public daycare centres in Israel. Two observations were carried out, one in toddlers' homes and the…

Background: Maternal depression and anxiety during pregnancy have been associated with offspring-attention deficit problems. Aim: We explored possible intrauterine effects by comparing maternal and paternal symptoms during pregnancy, by investigating cross-cohort consistency, and by investigating whether parental symptoms in early childhood may…

This paper explores contributions of qualitative research to saving theory for children, youth, and parents in children's development account (CDAs) programs. It brings together findings from three studies: (1) elementary school age children saving for college, (2) youth transitioning from foster care saving for education and other purposes, and…

Maternal emergent literacy practices during shared-reading interactions with 18-36-month-old toddlers were examined. The investigation of emergent literacy behaviours of both mothers and toddlers investigated included the examination of phonological awareness and written language awareness. Participants included 15 mother-toddler dyads from middle…

This study investigated the relationship between maternal depression and children's access to early intervention services among a sample of children with developmental delay at age two who were determined to be eligible for early intervention services, were full term and of normal birth weight, and were not previously identified with any special…

Relations between mothers' tendency to comment appropriately on their 8-month-olds' internal states (mind-mindedness) and children's behavioral difficulties (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) at ages 44 and 61 months were investigated in a socially diverse sample (N = 171, 88 boys). Controlling for maternal depressive symptoms, perceived…

The present investigation explored the association of mother--child and father--child emotional expressiveness during toddlerhood to children's prosocial and aggressive behaviour with peers. Data were collected from 62 Mexican-American families with toddlers (29 females, 33 males) during a home visit. Children's peer interactions were also…