Parents' book-reading habits with their children.

Abstract

The objectives of the present study were to (a) determine the extent to which parents' teaching of children becomes less directive as a function of children's age and communicative status and (b) describe relations between parents' interaction styles and children's verbal IQ. One hundred and twenty families participated in the study. Each family included a target child, a mother, and a father. Sixty families included a communicatively handicapped target child (CH), and sixty matched families had a non communicatively handicapped target child (NCH). Target children were divided into two age groups, 4-yearolds and 5-year-olds, Each parent engaged in a book-reading task with the target child. Parents' interactions with children were classified according to levels of cognitive demand and directiveness. Results indicated that parents were generally more directive and less demanding with younger CH children than they were with older NCH children. Further, different types of parental interaction styles predicted CH and NCH children's IQ. Results are discussed in terms of Vygotsky's (1978) theory of the zone of proximal development.

Father Involvement, Early Intervention Program and Well-being of Children with Special Needs

“…Results of this study support the findings of previous studies (Dunst, 1985;Gleason, 1975;Flippin & Crais, 2011;Middleton, 1995;Pellegrini, et al, 1985;Pleck & Masciadrelli, 2004;Shannon et al, 2002;Sloper, 1999;Sloper & Turner, 1993;Tannock, 1988) which prove that the relationship of father involvement with wellbeing of children with special needs is positive and significant. In the context of the father involvement against well-being of children with special needs, the father involvement clearly plays a large role in influencing the well-being of children with special needs widely not only in child development.…”

Parent-Child Interaction in a Letter-Writing Context

“…Perhaps parents who were confident in their children's abilities to write letters of the alphabet structured the task to make what they believed to be greater cognitive demands on their children. Certainly, the literature on parent-child interactions during more general cognitive tasks and story book reading indicates that parents do adjust their interactions with children based on their perceptions of children's competence (Pellegrini, et al, 1985;Snow & Ninio, 1986;Wood, 1980). Yet the children in both the highly directive exchange (see Exchange #1) and a more child-controlled exchange (see Exchange #3) both demonstrated the ability to write letters from dictation.…”

“…Some researchers have responded to this imperative by investigating parent-child interactions within the context of shared book-reading activities, whereas others have examined the broader aspects of family life that support the emergence of literacy. Pellegrini, Brody, and Sigel (1985) investigated parents' interactions with their children in terms of the parents' directiveness and the level of cognitive demand they required of their children during book reading. Their sample included 120 families with 4-or 5-year-old children; each age group included communication-handicapped and normally developing children.…”

Research on Developmental Psychology

“…In two additional studies (Pellegrini et al 1985, the Sigel research paradigm was applied, but interpretation of the results leaned heavily on Vygotsky's (1978) theory of the zone of proximal development. Pellegrini et al (1985) studied parents' book-reading behaviors with 4-and 5-year-old children.…”

“…Pellegrini et al (1985) studied parents' book-reading behaviors with 4-and 5-year-old children. Families differed in whether their children were communicatively disabled.…”