To what extent do home numeracy practices and parental number talk relate to children's math skills? A pre-registered study in 5-year-old children

Abstract

A growing number of studies suggest a relation between young children's math skills and their home numeracy environment (HNE), typically assessed through home numeracy practices and parental number talk. However, studies are characterized by heterogeneity in methods, analytic strategies, and results. Here we tested prevalent models of the HNE via a pre-registered study to reduce analytic flexibility and distinguish between confirmatory and exploratory findings. A wide range of mathematical skills was measured in 128 5-year-old children, while their HNE was assessed via a parental questionnaire evaluating the frequency of home numeracy practices and a direct measure of parental number talk during a free-play session in the lab. Contrary to our hypotheses, we did not find any predicted relation between children's mathematical skills and parental number talk or frequency of informal practices at home. However, as predicted, we confirmed a relation between formal advanced numeracy practices and symbolic mathematical skills.