Examines the relation between dyadic synchrony and child compliance during the toddler period. Demonstrates that children are more likely to comply with synchronous caregiver instructions than with asynchronous instructions. Discusses results in light of both cognitive and emotional factors of toddlers. (Author/RWB)

Investigates the impact of early maternal employment--direct (mother-child) and indirect (father-child) effects--in families with firstborn 20-month-olds. Shows maternal employment is not related to toddler outcomes (security of attachment or problem-solving behavior). (HOD)

Investigates the antecedents of individual differences in cognitive/language competence for 121 24-month-olds who were also assessed at 6 and 13 months. Warm verbal interactions between mother and child at three ages were associated with child competence at 24 months. Socioeconomic status was also modestly correlated. (Author/CB)

A comparison is presented of a mother's language to her Down Syndrome two-year-old and his normally developing twin. When interacting with the Down Syndrome twin, the mother used shorter mean length of utterance, greater type-token ratio, more confirmations, more verbal directives, fewer yes-no and true questions, and more directive questions.…

Two assessments of 26 Spanish-speaking, low-income, Latina mothers and their 26 toddlers, conducted 3 months apart, examined toddlers' behavioral difficulties, mothers' depression, mothers' self-efficacy (as parent), and mothers' social support. Mother's perceived social support at first assessment was predictive of depression level at second…

Examined convergent and discriminant validity of eight widely used preschooler, toddler, and infant temperament questionnaires. There was surprisingly strong evidence for convergence among scales intended to measure similar concepts, with most convergent validity coefficients falling in the .50s, .60s, and .70s. (SH)

In two experiments, mothers told their infant and an adult a story that involved target words, and women taught an assembly procedure involving novel terminology to another adult. In speech to infants, mothers positioned focused words on pitch peaks, but in speech to adults, the emphasis was more variable. (BC)

Examined effects of the age of adult female strangers on the affective behavior of 60 Japanese toddlers. The first study investigated the importance of the age discrepancy between mothers and female strangers aged 23 and over 65. The second study compared toddlers' reactions to mothers, men and women strangers the mother's age, and men and women…

An intervention program designed for 62 adolescent mothers and their children (ages 3-39 months) that included a curriculum focused on improving mother-child interaction skills and the mothers' knowledge of child development, resulted in the children making significantly greater gains on selected developmental skills than did their peers.…

A longitudinal study examined the developmental progression of mother/child conflict and conflict resolution strategies spanning the toddler to preschool years. Emphasizing verbal negotiations, the study showed that mother/child conflicts peak at 30 months, and, although toddlers tend to rely on refusing, preschoolers rely increasingly on…

A study of 3 mothers and their 12- to 18-month-old at-risk children found mothers engaged in more physical play, used a directive interaction style, and needed a high number of bids to keep their child's attention. Talk and play improved when mothers used pictures in books to talk to children. (Author/CR)

Many recent generativist models attribute grammatical knowledge to young children on the basis that children's language patterns the same way as the target adult language. It has been proposed that the child acquires this knowledge early on in development by a process of parameter setting. Wexler (1996) presents the "Very Early Parameter Setting…

In the United States, depression rates of 12-20 percent have been reported in toddlers' mothers. Depressed mothers provide their children with less appropriate structure, guidance, and rule enforcement than non-depressed mothers. This research explored the relationships among the following variables: toddlers' behavioral difficulties, mothers'…

A study examined how maternal separation anxiety contributes to the mother's departure actions and how those behaviors affect the child during separation. Subjects were 40 mothers and their toddlers, age 15 to 24 months, who were observed before and during separation. After completing the Maternal Separation Anxiety Questionnaire, mothers were…

Compared visual self-recognition in toddlers of depressed (DM) and nondepressed mothers (NDM). Found that DM toddlers showing self-recognition were more likely than NDM toddlers to display nonpositive affect. DM toddlers not showing self-recognition and who shifted affect in the postrouge condition were less securely attached to mothers with less…