When three is not a crowd: Mother-triplet interaction during individual memory conversations and group book reading

Abstract

Consistency in maternal support and children's involvement in conversations was examined in this case study by observing the interaction of one mother and her triplet sons individually in conversations about past experiences and during group book reading. The mother demonstrated consistent use of elaborations and affirmations across memory conversations, but she varied in her use of utterances that gained the boys' involvement. Although the children were similar in the content of their memory reports, they varied in their need for repeated queries and their responsiveness to questions. The children's responsiveness to questions when reminiscing was mirrored by the questions they responded to during reading. Results of this exploratory study indicate the consistency of the narrative model to which children in a family are exposed and suggest children's participation may evidence stability across contexts.