The secure base phenomenon was ascribed to changes in exploration observed during Ainsworth's Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), related to the quality of the attachment relationship. However, infant temperament was not taken into consideration. The current study aims to replicate Ainsworth's findings regarding infant exploration and attachment…

The author analyzed popular YouTube toy play videos, reviewing the range of storylines and their impact and influence. She argues that, although such videos may contribute to the commercialization of toys and play, they may also facilitate development of fine motor skills, socialization, and learning. She notes that, as with all Internet content,…

Child-directed language can support language learning, but how? We addressed two questions: (1) how caregivers prosodically modulated their speech as a function of word familiarity (known or unknown to the child) and accessibility of referent (visually present or absent from the immediate environment); (2) whether such modulations affect…

Given the established role of parental talk in the growth of math knowledge in preschoolers, there has been an increasing focus on identifying ways to promote parental math talk at this stage of child development. The current study investigated how parental math talk is affected by features of play materials and contexts. The features were…

Although questions fuel children's learning, adult "cell phone use" may preoccupy parents, affecting the frequency of questions parents and children ask and answer. We ask whether parental cell phone use will lead to a decrease in the number of questions children and parents ask one another while playing with a novel toy. Fifty-seven…

Early object name learning is often conceptualized as a problem of mapping heard names to referents. However, infants do not hear object names as discrete events but rather in extended interactions organized around goal-directed actions on objects. The present study examined the statistical structure of the "nonlinguistic" events that…

Given the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on children's schooling and learning, evidence for interventions implemented by parents is urgently needed. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a parent-mediated LEGO intervention on the social interactions of four children on the autism spectrum in China. The intervention involved four sets…

The author uses a dialogical autoethnographic approach informed by symbolic interactionist theory to examine the role of toys, play, and parenting decisions on his childhood development and adult opportunities and interests. He examines how self, others, social contexts, and objects, particularly toys and adult analogues for those toys, came…

Communication is best understood as occurring along three dimensions: interactional, conceptual, and linguistic. However, few studies have examined early parent-child communication along all three dimensions simultaneously. This study examines these three dimensions of communication in Norwegian parent-child interactions during play. Thirty-nine…

Increased recognition of the need to study child development outside of research labs in naturalistic contexts has led to the formation of partnerships between researchers and museums. Researcher-museum partnerships provide researchers access to families and naturalistic contexts in museums to study learning and social development. Although…

To study effects of the gender-packaging of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) toys, mother-child dyads (31 daughters; 30 sons; M = 5.2 years) were randomly assigned to play with a mechanical toy packaged for girls ("GoldieBlox") or boys ("BobbyBlox"). When familiarizing themselves with the toy to prepare…

The aim of the current study is to investigate whether 6-year-old children's temperament predict their level of attachment. The study has a descriptive design. During the Spring term of the academic year 2017-2018, 59 children (60-72-month old) and their mothers in City of Tekirdag (Süleymanpasa District) volunteered to participate in the study.…

Vocabulary differences early in development are highly predictive of later language learning as well as achievement in school. Early word learning emerges in the context of tightly coupled social interactions between the early learner and a mature partner. In the present study, we develop and apply a novel paradigm--dual head-mounted eye…

This study examined parent-child math talk within three contexts (formal learning; guided play; unguided play) in order to identify characteristics of activities supporting high-quality math engagement. Seventy-two dyads of parents and 4- and 5-year-olds were observed using a set of toy foods; instructions and materials varied across conditions.…

This study examined play interactions of 15 to 48-month-old children (n = 59) and their caregivers in Lazuri, a UNESCO-rated endangered South-Caucasian ancestral language, and Turkish, a dominant language supplanting Lazuri usage in the community. Child-caregiver dyads played with two toy sets (animal farm and tea set) that provided different…