Individual differences in spatial thinking are predictive of children's math and science achievement and later entry into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Little is known about whether parent characteristics predict individual differences in children's spatial thinking. This study aims to understand whether,…

Background and Aims: Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) is an evidence-based behavioral parent training program designed for preschool-age children that emphasizes supporting parent-child interaction patterns to improve child behavior and enhance the quality of parent-child relationships. PCIT has been deemed efficacious in treating children…

Receptive vocabulary development was examined in 313 children (151 girls; 78% White) as a function of infant attention and maternal education (66% of mothers held a college degree or higher). Attention was measured at 10 months using a dynamic puppet task and receptive vocabulary was measured at 3-, 4-, 6-, and 9 years of age using the Peabody…

This study aimed to assess differences in emotion and elaboration quality between clinical and community child cohorts in both past reminiscing and future worry conversations. We analyzed 54 Australian parents (46 mothers, 8 fathers) and their 8- to 12-year-old children (M = 9.63, SD = 1.29; 28 boys, 26 girls) in reminiscing interactions. Dyads…

This study examines the influence of a parent workshop intervention on vocabulary acquisition of at-risk preschool children during parent-child shared storybook reading. Sixty-nine parents were randomly assigned to either treatment or control group. In the treatment condition, parents were taught to implement elaborated vocabulary instruction…

This study examines how parents' mental health symptoms, emotion regulation and mindfulness relate to parent-child reminiscing conversations about past emotional events. Fifty-four children aged 8-12 years and their parents were recruited from a child psychology clinic (n = 28) and local schools (n = 26). Dyad's reminiscing conversations were…

When children ask questions about science, parents use a variety of strategies to answer them, including providing accurate information, connecting to prior knowledge, or simply saying "I do not know." This study examines the factors underlying individual differences in parental explanatory characteristics. Parents (N = 148; M[subscript…

Deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) need a supportive family environment to facilitate language development. The present study was designed to assess the effects of parent training (PT) on enhancing children's communication development. The PT was based on the "It Takes Two to Talk" model, with specific adaptations for families of…

Picture books inherently contain many parallel dimensions of information and serve as a rich source of input for children. However, studies of children's learning from picture books tend to focus on a single type of information (e.g., novel words). To better understand the learning-related potential of shared book reading, we examined 4.5- to…

Parental engagement in home-based learning activities is linked to children's academic skills. Yet, interventions that try to enhance parental engagement--sometimes targeted to families with low levels of education--have small effects. This study aimed to inform supports for families by examining how different types of home-based learning…

The number of U.S. children living in households with extended families has greatly increased in the last 4 decades. This demographic shift calls for a reevaluation of the impact of household size on children's development. Household density (HHD), measured as the ratio of people to bedrooms in a home, has been shown to negatively relate to…

Observational studies have shown that caregiver sensitivity predicts child language skills. These studies, however, have entirely relied on between-family designs (single parent-child dyad per family), which cannot rule out the contribution of shared family confounds (e.g., genetics, books in home). The current study investigates whether observed…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of parental sensitivity in language and neurocognitive outcomes in children who are deaf and/or hard of hearing (DHH). Method: Sixty-two parent-child dyads of children with normal hearing (NH) and 64 of children who are DHH (3-8 years) completed parent and child measures of inhibitory…

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased risk of persistent language and literacy difficulties. This study investigated the effectiveness of an 8-week parent-implemented shared book reading intervention designed to change parent and child book reading behaviours. Sixteen parents and their preschoolers on the autism…

This study investigated relations between parent teaching, cumulative instability/chaos and school readiness in a group of 130 children attending a Head Start preschool. Cumulative instability/chaos negatively predicted fall school readiness as well as spring school readiness. Parent teaching did not predict fall school readiness but did predict…