Parent-Child Interaction and Communication in the Early Years

Abstract

Verbal interchanges (with family, caregivers, and peers) occur within an interpersonal relational context that adds social meaning, personal values, and social-cultural codes to the linguistic contents. Through positive transactional interchanges, children gain self-agency, self-esteem, and become active social actors. In this study, the authors investigate the association between the parent's type of verbalizations (number of suggestions, directions, orders, positive and negative feedback, teaching, questions) and the quality of their interactive behavior (e.g., empathy, challenge, cooperation, dialogical interaction) during a collaborative activity with a child. Forty parent-child dyads (30 mothers, 10 fathers), with children ranging from 3 to 5-years old, were observed while manufacturing a product of their choice for 20 minutes using predefined materials and tools. Videos were scored using Tandem scales. The present study describes parents' verbal and non-behavior, indicating that both types of behaviors are linked, generating specific learning, affective, and social micro-contexts.