Interpersonal interactions during childhood form the foundation for development and learning (Tomasello, 2014; Vygotsky, 1962, 1978). Numerous studies have documented the impact of interactions between preschool teachers and preschool-aged children between 3 and 6 years of age (e.g., Denham et al., 2003; Hamre, Hatfield, Pianta & Jamil, 2013).…

Maternal responsive and directive speech to children at ages 0;10 and 2;0 was investigated by applying a procedure frst introduced by Flynn and Masur (2007) to a new language community (Finnish). The issues examined were consistency and stability over time, and also the role of responsiveness and directiveness in child linguistic development at…

Principles of a dynamic, dyadic systems view of mother-infant face-to-face communication, which considers self- and interactive processes in relation to one another, were tested. The process of interaction across time in a large low-risk community sample at infant age 4 months was examined. Split-screen videotape was coded on a 1-s time base for…

Ethnographic methods are used to investigate infant--toddlers relationships in an early childhood setting. The metaphorical and emotionally based concepts of holding [Winnicott, D. W. (1960). "The theory of the parent-infant relationship." "International Journal of Psychoanalysis," 41, 585-595.] and container: contained [Bion,…

Background: Identifying risk and protective factors for language development informs interventions for children with developmental language disorder (DLD). Maternal responsive and intrusive communicative behaviours are associated with language development. Mother-child interaction quality may influence how children use these behaviours in language…

The concept of bidirectionality represents a process of mutual influence between parent and child, whereby each influences the other as well as the dyadic relationship. Despite the widespread acceptance of bidirectional models of influence, there is still a lack of integration of such models in current research designs. Research on…

This single case study was undertaken to explore how an infant head teacher meets the needs of the infants, who express their desire to be cared for, in their caring encounters. Natural daily interactions between infants and the teacher were observed for approximately 10 weeks. Through the qualitative data analysis, the results of this study…

Family environment plays a very important role in early child development and the availability of stimulating material in the early years of a child's life is crucial for optimising development. The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) inventory is one of the most widely used measures to assess the quality and quantity of…

This document reports the case of 2-year-old girl who demonstrated verbal ability at home but who communicated through nonverbal means in the preschool classroom setting. Baseline data was collected by classroom observation for approximately 32 minutes per day during a 6-day period using an interaction process analysis format. Verbal and nonverbal…

Naturalistic observations of 20-month-old infants and their older siblings (1 1/2 or 3 years older) suggested the presence or absence of the mother may be an important variable in interactions between the two. (BJD)

Examines whether mothers modify their actions in response to infant facial expression or gaze direction. Subjects were seven pairs of mothers and infants (four to eight months old). Mothers were instructed to induce their infants to smile. (CM)

Reports a study of interactions of middle-class parents from 27 Swedish families, designated as shared child care or traditional families, with their first-born infants, aged 8 to 12 months. Suggests that differential involvement in child care has significant effects on fathers' behavior. (DR)

Two studies investigate the relationship between the distance of an adult's face from a human newborn and the infant's looking behavior. (CM)

Reports development as compared to age-related changes in maternal task instruction to children in their second year. Interactions of 12 mother-infant pairs involved with simple tasks were video-recorded bimonthly between the infants' 14th and 22nd month. Comparison revealed the superiority of the development-centered model of adaptation of…

The social interactions of 60 mother-infant pairs were observed for 25 minutes in a seminaturalistic setting when the infants were 6 months old and again at 20 months. Forty-six of the infants were termed at high risk for later school failure due to the socioeconomic situations of their families. (Author)