Parent-child Conversations Research Articles

"Washing our hands is a superpower": Parent-child conversations about COVID-19 are longitudinally associated with children's social-emotional adjustment and their conceptualizations of the pandemic.

Families with young school-age children experienced unique challenges during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. This longitudinal, mixed-methods study explored links between parent-child conversations early in the COVID-19 pandemic and children's later social-emotional adjustment and conceptualizations of the pandemic. In a socioeconomically diverse (36% low-income) sample of 183 families, parents (94% women, 6% men) reported on the content of their conversations about the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020 with their young school-age children (81% White, 8% Hispanic/Latine, 2% Asian/Pacific Islander, 1% Black, 8% multiracial/other; 46% girls, 54% boys, Mage = 7.15 years). Key themes identified in parent-child conversations included precautionary measures, the seriousness of the pandemic, the possibility of death or hospitalization, and collective safety efforts. Findings revealed that the content of early conversations, as reported by parents, had significant associations with children's externalizing, attentional, and internalizing behavior problems 6-18 months later (Fall 2020 to Spring 2022; Mage = 8.01 years). Children were interviewed about their understandings of the pandemic, and their explanations echoed themes raised earlier in parent-child conversations, with added emphasis on children's emotional experiences and disruptions to their daily routines. The results highlight the evolving nature of parents' and children's understandings as the pandemic progressed, as well as the developmental and contextual influences on children's conceptualizations of the pandemic and the content of parent-reported parent-child conversations. This study underscores the importance of parental communication for children's responses to global crises, highlighting how informed and supportive dialogues may support children's well-being during challenging times. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Supplemental Material for “Washing Our Hands Is a Superpower”: Parent–Child Conversations About COVID-19 Are Longitudinally Associated With Children’s Social–Emotional Adjustment and Their Conceptualizations of the Pandemic

Supplemental Material for “Washing Our Hands Is a Superpower”: Parent–Child Conversations About COVID-19 Are Longitudinally Associated With Children’s Social–Emotional Adjustment and Their Conceptualizations of the Pandemic

Effects of Parents' Smartphone Use on Children's Emotions, Behavior, and Subjective Well-Being.

This study aimed to examine the associations between parents' smartphone use during conversations with children, children's emotional and behavioral reactions to parents' smartphone use, and children's well-being. This study was conducted on a sample of 284 children (aged 10 to 15 years, with a mean age of 12.23 in 2021; 40.2% boys). The data come from a four-wave longitudinal study (2021-2023) within the project D.E.C.I.D.E. Children reported how often their parents use smartphones during conversations with them (second wave), their emotions and behaviors related to parents' smartphone use (third wave), and their subjective well-being (fourth wave). A proposed model was tested in which the frequency of parents' smartphone use during parent-child conversations was a predictor, different children's emotional and behavioral reactions to parents' smartphone use were mediators, and children's well-being was the criterion. The results showed that more frequent parents' smartphone use is associated with more frequent children's experiences of anger and sadness in situations when parents use smartphones while with children, which is linked to lower children's well-being. More frequent parents' smartphone use is associated with more giving up on seeking parents' attention among children, which is related to lower well-being.

A building block for science talk: Educational TV supports parent-child conversations during an engineering activity.

We investigated the impact of parents' open-ended questions during collaborative science activities. Specifically, we randomly assigned 116 parents (69.8% mothers; 89.7% White) and their 4- to 7-year-old children (50.9% girls; 87.9% White) to watch science television before or after completing an engineering activity. Using sequence analysis, we examined the conversational exchanges elicited by parents' open-ended questions. Two patterns emerged: knowledge elaboration sequences occurred when children formulated science explanations, and knowledge gap sequences occurred when children revealed their lack of knowledge. Watching science television before (vs. after) the engineering activity promoted knowledge elaboration sequences but had no impact on knowledge gap sequences. These patterns did not vary according to children's age. Collectively, our results offer empirical support for the notion that parents' open-ended questions elicit two types of responses from children during collaborative science activities. Furthermore, our results suggest that science television might serve as a conversational support during those activities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Parent Outreach Efforts Extend the Sustained Benefits of a Preschool Classroom Intervention: Adolescent Follow-Up of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

The Research-based Developmentally Informed (REDI) program enriched Head Start classrooms with teacher-delivered curriculum components designed to enhance child social-emotional learning and language-literacy skills. Parents received information about the program via backpack express, including weekly handouts about program topics and three DVDs illustrating REDI interactive strategies and suggesting home learning activities. In addition to effects on child skill acquisition and school performance (reported previously), positive effects emerged on a family-based outcome: parents of children in REDI-enriched classrooms reported higher quality preschool parent-child conversations than parents in the randomized control group (usual practice) classrooms. This study examined the long-term benefits associated with intervention-related improvements in preschool conversations. The original sample included 356 children (58% White, 24% Black, and 18% Latinx; 54% girls, 46% boys); 77% had the high school follow-up data used in this study. Longitudinal GLM analyses documented significant REDI intervention effects on parent-adolescent communication quality (assessed in the 7th and 9th grades) and on parent- and youth-reported high school behavior problems (assessed in 11th grade). Path analyses revealed significant serial mediation from intervention-related improvements in preschool conversations to parent-adolescent communication quality (grades 7-9) to reductions in later youth-reported (but not parent-reported) behavior problems (grade 11). The findings suggest that including "light touch" parent engagement materials with preschool classroom interventions can contribute to long-term program benefits.

Exploring the Feasibility and Acceptability of Technological Interventions to Prevent Adolescents' Exposure to Online Pornography: Qualitative Research.

Amid growing concern over children's access to online pornography, policy makers are looking toward new and emerging technological concepts for unexplored solutions including artificial intelligence and facial recognition. This study sought to explore and ideate emerging technological interventions that are feasible, acceptable, and effective in preventing and controlling the exposure of young people to online pornographic material. We conducted a series of qualitative co-design workshops with both adult (n=8; aged 32-53 years) and adolescent participants (n=4; aged 15-17 years) to ideate potential technological interventions that are feasible, acceptable, and effective at preventing and controlling the exposure of young people to online pornographic material. A story stem methodology was used to explore participants' attitudes toward two unique technological prototypes. Participants expressed a generally favorable view of the proposed technological concepts but remained unconvinced of their overall utility and effectiveness in preventing the intentional viewing of pornography by young people. Age-appropriate parent-child conversations remained participants' preferred approach to mitigating potential harms from pornographic material, with parents also expressing a desire for more educational resources to help them better navigate these discussions. User privacy and data security were a primary concern for participants, particularly surrounding the use and collection of biometric data. Internationally, policy makers are taking action to use age assurance technologies to prevent children's access to online pornography. It is important to consider the needs and opinions of parents and young people in the use and implementation of these technologies. Participants in this study were generally supportive of new and emerging technologies as useful tools in preventing the accidental exposure of young people to online pornographic material. However, participants remained less convinced of their ability to avert intentional viewing, with substantial concerns regarding technological efficacy, adaptability, and user privacy. Further, co-design and prototype refinement are needed to better understand user acceptability and comfortability of these new technological interventions, alongside additional research exploring sociocultural differences in information needs and user experiences.

Parent conversations with young children: Implications for child well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Parent-child conversations may minimize the impact of stressful situations on children's well-being. Parents were encouraged to talk with their children about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, yet research suggests that parent stress in response to the pandemic was associated with disruptions in parenting and increased child emotional distress. In the present study, 205 parents of children aged 3-6 years (50.7% girls, 56.6% White) reported on conversations about the pandemic and responded to measures of parent stress and child emotional distress in the fall of 2020. Qualitative analysis revealed that talk about mitigation strategies was frequent; most parents offered an explanation for pandemic changes, whereas fewer parents reported communicating support. Guided by the family stress model, we then examined whether different conversation types moderated the association between parent stress and child emotional distress. Only talk about pandemic changes and explanations that COVID-19 was dangerous acted as moderators, suggesting that these conversation types strengthened the association between parent stress and child emotional distress. A main effect of self-protective explanations being associated with lower child emotional distress was also found. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research on parent-child conversations about stressful situations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Phonological whole-word measures in bilingual Arabic-English speaking children

ABSTRACT This study investigated phonological whole-word measures in bilingual Arabic-English speakers to explore how the target approximations influence children’s phonological development. To this end, fifteen bilingual Arabic-English speakers and nine monolingual Arabic-speaking children aged 36–48 months (mean = 42) participated in a parent–child conversation. The study calculated four measures: the phonological mean length of utterance (PMLU), the proportion of whole-word proximity (PWP), the proportion of whole-word correctness (PWC), and the percentage consonant accuracy (PCC). The findings revealed significant differences in each measure between bilinguals and monolinguals. It seems that bilinguals’ lower scores resulted from a decreased rate of language exposure, but not because of slow language acquisition and development.

Developing Concepts of Authenticity: Insights From Parents' and Children's Conversations About Historical Significance.

The present study investigated children's understanding that an object's history may increase its significance, an appreciation that underpins the concept of historical authenticity (i.e., the idea that an item's history determines its true identity, beyond its functional or material qualities, leading people to value real items over copies or fakes). We examined the development of historical significance through the lens of parent-child conversations, and children's performance on an authenticity assessment. The final sample was American, 79.2% monoracial White, and mid-high socio-economic status (SES) and included 48 parent-child pairs: 24 with younger children (R=3.5 to 4.5 years) and 24 with older children (R=5.5 to 6.5 years). Parent-child pairs discussed three books we created, with three storylines: a museum (culturally authentic) storyline, a clean-up (personally authentic) storyline, and a control storyline. Across measures, conversations suggested that authenticity may begin as a "placeholder concept" that is initially rooted in a broad appreciation for the significance of old objects and only later filled in with specifics. This placeholder initially directs children's learning about authenticity by linking, in an unspecified way, the value and significance of objects to their past. For example, we found that young children appropriately appealed to history (vs. perceptual or functional features of objects) in contexts regarding authentic objects but struggled in determining which objects were more significant on the post-test assessment, suggesting that they attend to object history but are not yet sure how histories matter for making authenticity judgments. We also found some evidence that directing children's attention toward conceptual information related to object history may in turn direct them away from material or perceptual considerations, as seen in trade-offs in parents' and children's conversations. Together, this exploratory report offers many new avenues for work on the development of authenticity concepts in childhood.

Who’s to blame? How subtle negative messages about outgroups contribute to ethnic prejudice development in middle to late childhood

Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that parents’ and children’s ethnic prejudice are related to one another. However, little is known about the specific parental practices that facilitate the intergenerational transmission of prejudice. Using a novel measure, we examined how everyday parent-child conversations about the ambiguous behaviors of others (e.g. behaviors open to multiple interpretations) may contribute to children’s ethnic prejudice development. The sample consisted of 249 pairs of mothers and children (aged 6 to 10 years) from the Netherlands with ethnically diverse backgrounds. In line with previous developmental findings, our results reveal that older children exhibit lower ethnic prejudice. Noticeably, however, we find that higher mothers’ subtle negative messages about outgroup members’ behaviors are significantly related to children’s higher ethnic prejudice. These findings did not differ by ethnic background. These results highlight the importance of examining how seemingly innocuous conversations may contribute to children’s ethnic prejudice development.

Child Maltreatment and Self-rated Health: Mediating Effect of Parent–child Conversation and Moderating Effect of Gender

ABSTRACT Child maltreatment seriously affects children’s psychological and social well-being, as well as their physical health. The study aimed to explore the impact of violence experienced by children on their self-rated health. It also examined whether this effect is mediated by parent–child conversations and whether it varies based on the child’s gender. The study was based on the Child Victim Survey of 2013 (FSD2943) in Finland. Mediation and moderation models were tested. According to the analyses, violence experienced by a child at the hands of their parents weakened the parent–child relationship, which, in turn, negatively impacted the child’s self-rated health. Further, the higher the frequency of experienced violence, the more negative are the health consequences. However, girls had stronger negative health consequences as a result of low frequency of violence than boys. Social workers should pay particular attention to the dynamics within the family when assessing the possibility of child maltreatment.

Early Parental Knowledge and Parent-Child Conversations Promote Preschool Language Skills: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled trial examined the long-term impact of the 3Ts-HV intervention on preschool-aged children's language skills through promoting parental knowledge and parent-child conversational turns during toddlerhood among families from low-socioeconomic status backgrounds, controlling for parental education level, parental language skills, and child's age. Ninety twoparent-toddler dyads of low socioeconomic status were randomized to receive either the 3Ts-HV intervention (n = 46) or Healthy Lifestyle control (n = 46) curriculum from 14 to 20 months. Parental language skills were assessed at 14 months; parental knowledge was assessed at 14 and 26 months; parent-child conversational turn count was assessed at 14 and 38 months; children's language skills were assessed at 50 months. A significant serial mediation effect (β=0.05, 95% CI [0.002; 0.13]) revealed that the 3Ts-HV intervention increased parental knowledge at 26 months, contributed to more frequent parent-child conversational turns at 38 months, and in turn promoted children's language skills at 50 months. The present study provides empirical evidence illustrating the underlying longitudinal processes from increasing parental knowledge and enriching parent-child linguistic interactions during toddlerhood, to promoting children's language development at preschool age. These findings point to a significant path to supporting families who face socioeconomic challenges early in life to promote equity in children's early language experiences and narrow disparities in children's developmental outcomes.

Predictors and Implications of Parents’ Beliefs About the Age Appropriateness of LGBTQ+ Topics for Children

U.S. policies increasingly limit lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or another marginalized gender identity or sexual orientation (LGBTQ +) education topics for children under the guise of age-appropriate curriculum, placing the responsibility of educating children about LGBTQ + identities and experiences on parents. We examined parents’ beliefs about the age-appropriateness of LGBTQ + topics for children, with implications for parent–child conversations and support for restricted LGBTQ + curriculum. In two studies, LGBTQ + and cisgender-heterosexual parents’ (N = 837) belief that LGBTQ + topics are age-appropriate for children at an older age was related to fewer parent–child conversations about LGBTQ + topics and greater anticipated discomfort having such conversations (Studies 1 and 2). Counter to hypotheses, exposure to restrictive LGBTQ + education policies did not affect age-appropriateness beliefs (Studies 1 and 2). In line with hypotheses, parents’ belief that sexual orientation discussion should be minimized was associated with later age-appropriateness beliefs and greater support for restricting LGBTQ + curriculum (cisgender-heterosexual parents; Study 2). These studies highlight age-appropriateness beliefs as a key mechanism hindering critical parent–child LGBTQ + conversations.

How mothers talk to their children about failure, mistakes and setbacks is related to their children's fear of failure.

Many people fear failure and making mistakes. This fear can be transmitted from parents to children, suggesting that parental communication regarding failures and setbacks may play a critical role in shaping a child's perception of mistakes. In this study, we investigated how everyday parent-child conversations about setbacks influence children's fear of making mistakes. Drawing on the large pre-birth Growing Up in New Zealand cohort, we focused on a sub-sample of 231 mother-child dyads who engaged in a recorded conversations about a "recent disappointment or setback" when the children were 8 years old. Conversations between mothers and children about the recent disappointments were coded to identify whether parents recognised or acknowledge their child's emotional response, if action plans were discussed, and the types of resources that the child could draw on. The children also completed a questionnaire about their global self-worth and their fear of making mistakes. The discussion of clear action plans, in the absence of a discussion about collaborative resources, was found to be associated with an increased fear of making mistakes among children. Conversely, when mothers clearly acknowledged their child's emotions and discussed ways to work collaboratively with their child on future problems, there was a notable decrease in the child's fear of mistakes. However, it is noteworthy that many mothers in our study either minimally acknowledged or dismissed their child's emotions(40%), rarely discussed action plans (55%), or collaborative resources (79%)when discussing the recent setback.

Barriers and recommendations for parent-child conversations about pornography.

Parents consistently report being worried about the impact of online pornography on their adolescent and pre-adolescent children's development. Yet, most parents do not discuss pornography as part of parent-child conversations about sexuality. The current study sought to identify the barriers to parent-child conversations about pornography. We present two studies. The first study employed one-to-one interviews to explore parents' (n = 14) beliefs about their role in their child's pornography education. The second study involved the quantitative assessment of Study 1 findings in a sample of parents of pre-adolescent and adolescent children (n = 408). Findings indicate that three overarching themes prevent parents from addressing pornography with their adolescent children, parents' practical ability to discuss pornography, their attitudes toward discussing pornography, and the perceived positive impact of addressing pornography with their adolescent children. Practical ability was most often reported as the greatest barrier to parents engaging in parent-child conversations about pornography. Most notably, parents reported hesitancy in discussing pornography because they did not know how to define pornography or how to address pornography in an age-appropriate way. Fathers were also significantly less likely to believe that talking about pornography was socially acceptable. We discuss the implications of these findings and present recommendations for developing a parents' pornography education resource.

White parents' racial socialization during a guided discussion predicts declines in white children's pro-white biases.

Although parent-child conversations about race are recommended to curb White U.S. children's racial biases, little work has tested their influence. We designed a guided racism discussion task for U.S. White parents and their 8-12-year-old White children. We explored whether children's and parents' (a) pro-White implicit biases changed pre to postconversation, (b) racial socialization messages (color conscious, external attributions for prejudiced behavior and colorblind racial ideology [CBRI]) predicted changes in each other's implicit biases, and (c) associations varied by the type of racism (subtle vs. blatant) discussed. Children's and parents' biases significantly declined, pre to postdiscussion. Parents' color conscious messages predicted greater declines and messages reflecting CBRI and external attributions predicted smaller declines in children's bias. These patterns were observed during discussions of subtle, but not blatant bias. Effects of children's messages on parents' bias were mixed. Our findings suggest that color conscious parent-child discussions may effectively reduce implicit pro-White bias in White children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

An Exploration of the Environmental Setting Mothers and Early Adolescent Youth Prefer to Have Conversations About Daily Stressors

Parent-child conversations are impacted by environmental setting. Yet, few studies have considered where mothers and early adolescent youth prefer to have conversations about daily stressors. This study examines where mothers and youth prefer to have conversations about daily stressors, differences in preference based on demographic variables, and why certain environmental settings are preferred. One hundred youth ( M = 11.04, 53% boys) and their mothers participated in semi-structured interviews. Findings showed that youth preferred to communicate in their bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room, whereas mothers preferred the kitchen, their child’s bedroom, and the car. Using thematic analysis, we found that participants preferred communicating in physically and psychologically comfortable environments, private locations that were away from others, and that they relied on bedtime and mealtime routines to engage in regular conversations. Findings suggest that the place mothers and youth converse matters and may meaningfully impact parent-child conversations about daily stressors.

Money talks! The role of parents’ discussion of money for preschoolers’ math knowledge

Children’s participation in cultural, everyday practices and social interactions involving math and money can contribute to the development of their knowledge and skills in these domains. Further work is needed to uncover what features of these activities, such as aspects of the conversations that may occur (e.g., number and money talk), facilitate and/or are shaped by children’s understanding of money concepts and skills. The present study examined the extent to which parents engaged in conversations about numbers and money with their four-year-old children during pretend grocery play and the relations to children’s math skills. We found that talk about price labeling and exchanging currency or goods occurred most frequently and that money and number talk were not significantly related to children’s broader math skills. However, parents’ money talk was positively associated with children’s money-related math skills, and this association was driven by the co-occurrence of talk about money and numbers. Our results suggest that parent-child conversations in familiar contexts such as grocery shopping provide rich opportunities to discuss culturally relevant practices surrounding money and practice math skills in the context of monetary exchanges. Thus, it is critical to consider how existing family practices and everyday contexts support children’s early math learning.

Emotion talk in parent–child conversations about past emotions in low-income families

ABSTRACT This study analysed the total words and emotion words, narrative styles, and narrative content of low-income parent–child conversations about past emotions in Taiwan. We recruited 38 low-income parents and their children (20 boys and 18 girls); the parents were recorded in their homes as they discussed past events with their children. The average age of the children was 72 months. The results highlighted the absence of gender differences in the number of words, narrative styles, and narrative content in the low-income parent–child emotion talk. The parents favoured a low-elaborative style with minimal conversational turns. Our analysis revealed that the physical discipline of low-income parents was a notable emotional theme prompting negative emotions, particularly anger, in children. In terms of emotional resolution, the parents in our sample did not provide moral lessons; moreover, when managing children’s negative emotions, these parents did not adopt resolution, reassurance, or reestablishment strategies.

The relationships between screen exposure, parent-child interactions and comprehension in 8-month-old infants: The mediating role of shared viewing and parent-child conversation.

To explore the relationships between screen exposure, parent-child interactions and comprehension in 8-month-old infants, and to examine whether shared viewing and parent-child conversation during screen exposure may play mediating role in that relationships. The sample included 437 infants aged 8 months from the Children's Health Department of Guiyang Maternal and Child Health Hospital during January 2022 to February 2023. The use of electronic screen devices was assessed using a screen exposure questionnaire. The Brigance Parent-child interactions Scale was used to assess parent-child interactions and the Putonghua Communicative Development Inventory (PCDI) scale was used to assess infants' word comprehension. 48.7% of infants were found to be using screens 1-2 days per week. There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the PCDI-comprehension scores of screen-exposed infants compared to non-screen-exposed infants. Shared viewing and parent-child conversation during screen exposure were positively associated with parent-child interactions (p < 0.05). Mediation analysis revealed that parent-child conversation fully mediated between screen exposure and PCDI-comprehension, but partially mediated between parent-child interactions and PCDI-comprehension. Shared viewing and parent-child conversation during screen exposure may mediate between screen exposure and comprehension development. Shared viewing, parent-child conversation and parent-child interactions may be protective factors for screen exposure in comprehension development. Suggests that parents should accompany and communicate with their children when they use electronic screen devices to reduce the negative impact of screen exposure on children's comprehension.