Parents'talk to their infants: the importance of context

Charlie N. Lewis · Sue Gregory

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Language Development and Disorders Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies Child and Animal Learning Development

Abstract

This study examines two theories concerning the nature of parents' talk to their young children. The Differential Experience Hypothesis posits that mothers' and fathers' speech styles are distinguishable and each serves a different function in the child's language development. In contrast the Context Hypothesis argues that observed differences between parents are the product of the different contexts in which parent-toddler interaction is examined. An analysis of mothers' and fathers' talk to their 10- and 15-month-olds during three activities- book play, toy play and free play - revealed that both the structure and function of parental language were influenced most by the nature of play in which parent-child pairs were engaged. Variation between mothers and fathers may, therefore, reflect a predisposition for parents to engage in different activities when their language is recorded for examination. Moreover, it is argued that these differ ences reflect their idiosyncratic perceptions of socially expected behaviour.

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References

1977Talking to Children 1979A Comparison of Fathers' and Mothers' Speech with Their Young Children 1980Fathers' and mothers' speech in early language development 1986Becoming a father 1987Parents' speech to toddlers: the effect of play context 1971FATHERS' VERBAL INTERACTION WITH INFANTS IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF LIFE 1983Mothers' and fathers' speech to their young children: similar or different?

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1996Five-year-olds' interactions with fathers versus mothers 2015Low-income fathers’ speech to toddlers during book reading versus toy play 2010Gender and patterns of language development in mother-toddler and father-toddler dyads 1992Toddler language and play in the second year: stability, covariation and influences of parenting 1995Do mothers and fathers interact differently with their child or is it the situation which matters?

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