Math talk by mothers, fathers, and toddlers: Differences across materials and associations with children's math understanding.

Learning words for numbers, shapes, spatial relations, and magnitudes-"math talk"-relies on input from caregivers. Language interactions between caregivers and children are situated in activity contexts and likely affected by available materials. Here, we examined how play materials influence the math talk directed to and produced by young children. We video-recorded parents (mothers and fathers; English- and/or Spanish-speaking) and their 24- to 36-month-olds during play with four sets of materials, transcribed and coded types of parent and toddler math words/phrases, and assessed toddlers' understanding of number, shape, and spatial relations terms. Categories of math words varied by materials. Numeracy talk (e.g., "one," "two," "first," "second") was more frequent during interactions with a picture book and toy grocery shopping set than with a shape sorter or magnet board; the reverse held for spatial talk (e.g., "out," "bottom," "up," "circle"). Parent math talk predicted toddler math talk, and both parent and toddler math talk predicted toddlers' understanding of spatial and number words. Different materials provide unique opportunities for toddlers to learn abstract math words during interactions with caregivers, and such interactions support early math cognition.

Longitudinal associations between early risk and adolescent delinquency: Mediators, moderators, and main effects.

Although multiple domains of risk are theorized to predict adolescent delinquency, father-specific risk in the context of other risks is under-researched. Using the low-income Future of Families and Child Wellbeing cohort (48% Black, 27% Hispanic, 21% White, 51% boy, N = 4,255), the current study addressed three research questions. (1) are father-, mother-, child-, and family-level cumulative risk during early childhood associated with adolescent delinquent behavior?, (2) does child self-control in middle childhood mediate the associations between fathers' and mothers' cumulative risk and adolescent delinquent behavior, and do quality of parent's relationships with children and parental monitoring in middle childhood mediate the association between child cumulative risk and delinquent behavior?, (3) do parenting, quality of parent-child relationships in middle childhood, and child sex at birth moderate the associations among fathers', mothers', children's, and family risk and adolescent delinquent behavior? Results indicated father, child, and mother risk at ages 3-5 were significantly and positively associated with youth-reported delinquent behavior. Higher levels of family risk were associated with less delinquency when 9-year-olds felt closer to fathers than when they felt less close. Children's self-control at age 9 mediated the associations between father and child risk and delinquent behavior.

Caregivers' Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Children's Behavior.

The COVID-19 pandemic has financial and emotional impacts on families. We explored how caregivers' financial strain and mental health are associated with changes in their young children's behavior during the pandemic. We additionally considered whether having a sense of purpose moderated these associations. Caregivers (n = 300) in the emergency department of a children's hospital were surveyed anonymously about changes to their employment (e.g., reduced/increased hours and job loss), ability to pay for expenses and whether their child's behavior had changed. Aligned with the Family Stress Model, caregivers' financial strain was associated with poor mental health, inconsistent sleep routines, and changes in children's problematic and prosocial behaviors. A sense of purpose buffered some of these relationships. Families are differently affected by the pandemic and our findings underscore the need for supporting caregivers' mental health and connecting them with resources.

Commentary: Recognizing our similarities and celebrating our differences - parenting across cultures as a lens toward social justice and equity.

Lansford (2021) has aptly and eloquently reviewed the vast scholarly research on cross-cultural parenting and concludes that similarities in parenting norms and behaviors across cultures reflect universally adaptive behaviors for children's development. Culture-specific differences are due largely to environmental constraints and affordances as well as cultural norms for expected behavior. This is an exemplar review that tells a clear story of what we have learned from the decades of research on this topic and lays the foundation for future scholarship. Specially compelling is Lansford's argument that we need to take stock of what we know and conduct more of this type of research because the majority of what we have now is biased and does not represent the parenting practices of an increasingly diverse population. In this commentary, I provide some context for the value and potential pitfalls of cross-cultural research; discuss the importance of theoretically driven research; discuss the benefits of cross-cultural research; and conclude with some ideas for future investigations.

A meta-analysis on observed paternal and maternal sensitivity.

Two meta-analyses were conducted (N = 10,980 child-father dyads) with 93 studies published between 1983-2020, primarily in North America and Europe, on observed parental sensitivity to children (3-180 months; 48% girls; 14% non-White) in partnered mothers and fathers. The first meta-analysis found higher maternal mean levels of observed sensitivity, with a small effect size (d = -.27). Differences between parents were larger with micro coding and triadic/family assessments. Differences narrowed as a function of publication year and were not significant in European samples. The second meta-analysis identified a moderate correlation between observed maternal and paternal sensitivity (r = .23 after adjusting for probable publication bias). Correlations were larger in Middle Eastern samples and with composite sensitivity scales.

Challenging Parenting Behaviors in Ethnically Diverse Two-Parent Families in the United States: Association with Infants' Social Competence and Behavior Problems.

We used data from a sample of ethnically diverse first-time parents (N = 186) in the United States to examine differences between mothers' and fathers' challenging parenting behaviors (CPB) when infants were 9 months old as well as covariates of CPB. We also examined associations between CPB and infants' social competence and behavior problems when they were 12 months old. Results showed no differences between mothers and fathers in the level of CPB with their infants. Mothers with more depressive symptoms engaged in more CPB. Over and above the contributions of infants' gender and temperament and parents' education, mothers' and fathers' CPB was not associated with infants' social competence and behavior problems. This study expands our understanding of the universality of CPB and whether it is associated with social competence in ethnically diverse families.

Cultural adaptation of 'Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids' for Hispanic families: applying the ecological validity model.

BACKGROUND: Healthy Dads Healthy Kids (HDHK) is a unique lifestyle obesity intervention for fathers and children that demonstrated weight loss among the fathers and behavior change among fathers and children in Australia. The program is gender-tailored to specifically target fathers for weight loss and 5-12 year old children for obesity prevention. The aim of this formative study was to examine an Expert Panel's and Hispanic Family Panel's perceptions about the program and suggestions for the cultural adaptation of HDHK for Hispanic families in southwestern US. METHODS: Forty-four Hispanic participants (22 fathers, 13 mothers and 9 children) made up the Family Panel. They participated in 1-5 study contacts (focus groups, online survey, and/or interviews). The scripts and qualitative guides assessed participants' perceptions of the HDHK content and material using the Ecological Validity Model. Studies were conducted in English or Spanish, depending on the preference of the participant. Focus groups and interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, translated, and thematically coded. Findings were reviewed with the Expert Panel who helped inform the cultural adaptation. RESULTS: 80% of parents were foreign-born, 57% spoke only Spanish at home, and 60% did not graduate from high school. Several themes emerged to inform the cultural adaptation of the program. Parents agreed with the HDHK goals and recommended the program place greater emphasis on parenting and limiting children's screen time. Some mothers and fathers wanted greater mother engagement. Weekly videos and a Facebook group emerged as favorite alternative options to engage mothers. Greater promotion of familism (inclusion and impact on whole family) was recommended for the program goals and activities. Gender roles for mothers and fathers, and differences in how fathers interact with male and female children, emerged and should be considered in program activities. Several barriers to father engagement surfaced, including lack of time due to work schedules, physically demanding jobs, concerns of caring for children without mother, fathers' current fitness/weight, and lack of knowledge of how to eat more healthfully. The reading level of the HDHK materials was too high for some parents. CONCLUSION: Findings from these formative qualitative studies informed the cultural adaptation of HDHK for Hispanic families, to account for literacy level, cultural values, and barriers to participation and engagement.

Cognitive Stimulation at Home and in Child Care and Children's Preacademic Skills in Two-Parent Families.

This paper used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (N = 1,258) to examine the influence of hilevels of cognitive stimulation from mothers, fathers, and childcare providers at 24 months and children's pre-academic skills at 48 and 60 months in two parent families. Results from path analysis showed direct positive effects of fathers' early cognitive stimulation on early reading and math skills at 48 and 60 months. There were also two moderated effects: The effects of high levels of maternal stimulation at 24 months on early math and reading skills at 48 months were largest for children also receiving high levels of cognitive stimulation from their childcare providers. Implications for including fathers in studies of the home cognitive stimulation and strengthening the parent-childcare connection are discussed.

Father involvement, father-child relationship, and attachment in the early years.

Over the last few decades fathers have become an increasing presence in research, yet research on fathers still lags behind that on mothers. In fact, most research on parents still includes the mother. Consequently, there is still much to learn about fathers. This is particularly true for understanding how parent-child relationship functioning in the early years can serve as a source of emotional security that promotes healthy development across developmental domains and across the lifespan. In this commentary, I take a social policy broad lens to highlight the empirical and theoretical connections among father- relationship, father involvement, and father-child attachment.

Children's Adjustment to Parents' Break Up: The Mediational Effects of Parenting and Co-parenting.

Although past studies have shown an association between union instability (i.e., change in family structure) and children's aggressive behaviors, the mechanism by which this occurs is less understood. This study (n = 3,387) examined whether father and mother involvement, co-parenting support, and maternal responsiveness explained the association between union instability in early life and children's aggressive behaviors at 9 years, and whether relationship status moderated this association. Findings reveal that only co-parenting support mediated this association and only for children whose mothers divorced (not for mothers who experienced a non-marital separation), suggesting that when a divorce occurs, the relationship between partners (co-parenting) is more important than the relationship with children (parenting) for children's social adjustment.

Family Change and Co-parenting in Resident Couples and Children's Behavioral Problems.

Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study (n = 1,553), the present study examined whether father involvement and co-parenting quality mediated the association between union instability (number of residential romantic partner changes) over the first 5 years of life and children's externalizing problem behaviors (EPB) at 5 years. The results indicate that only co-parenting support mediated the association between union instability and children's EPB, controlling for known covariates of children's EPB. The findings suggest that the union instability associated with romantic partner transitions has a deleterious effect on children's behaviors because the change in union status decreases the quality of the co-parenting relationship.

Chapter VI: Longitudinal Contributions of Maternal and Paternal Intrusive Behaviors to Children's Sociability and Sustained Attention at Prekindergarten.

We examined the association between U.S.-born mothers' and fathers' intrusiveness at 24 months and children's sociability and sustained attention at prekindergarten in a sample of low-income, ethnic minority children (N = 74) enrolled in Early Head Start in the U.S. Event-based coding captured the frequency and intensity of parents' intrusive episodes with their children as well as the contingent affect of parents and children during each episode. Fathers and mothers did not differ in frequency of intrusive episodes; fathers were more intensely intrusive but exhibited more positive affect during intrusive episodes than mothers. Children exhibited more positive affect during intrusive exchanges with their fathers than with their mothers. Positive mother-child dyadic affect but not intrusive behaviors at 24 months were not related to sociability and sustained attention in prekindergarten. Moreover, positive mother-child dyadic affect buffered children from the negative effects of maternal intrusive behaviors on sociability.

Advancing Research and Measurement on Fathering and Child Development.

Fathers are more than social accidents. Research has demonstrated that fathers matter to children's development. Despite noted progress, challenges remain on how best to conceptualize and assess fathering and father-child relationships. The current monograph is the result of an SRCD-sponsored meeting of fatherhood scholars brought together to discuss these challenges and make recommendations for best practices for incorporating fathers in studies on parenting and children's development. The first aim of this monograph was to provide a brief update on the current state of research on fathering and to lay out a developmental ecological systems perspective as a conceptual framework for understanding the different spaces fathers inhabit in their children's lives. Because there is wide variability in fathers' roles, the ecological systems perspective situates fathers, mothers, children, and other caregivers within an evolving network of interrelated social relationships in which children and their parents change over time and space (e.g., residence). The second aim was to present examples of empirical studies conducted by members of the international working group that highlighted different methods, data collection, and statistical analyses used to capture the variability in father-child relationships. The monograph ends with a commentary that elaborates on the ecological systems framework with a discussion of the broader macrosystem and social-contextual influences that impinge on fathers and their children. The collection of articles contributes to research on father-child relationships by advancing theory and presenting varied methods and analysis strategies that assist in understanding the father-child relationship and its impact on child development.

Family structure change among Latinos: Variation by ecologic risk.

We examined differences in family structure change in an urban sample of mothers (N= 1,314) from their child's birth to age 5 and whether ecological risk moderated this association. We found that compared to U.S.-born Latino mothers, foreign-born Latino mothers were 62% less likely to break up and 75% less likely to repartner than remain stably resident. Across nativity status, Latina mothers with fewer children, more economic stress, less income, and less frequently reported father involvement were more likely to break up and repartner than remain stably resident. We found no moderation effects of ecological risk.

Fathers' repetition of words is coupled with children's vocabularies.

Differences in vocabulary size among children can be explained in part by differences in parents' language input, but features of caregivers' input can be more or less beneficial depending on children's language abilities. The current study focused on a specific feature of infant-directed speech: parents' repetition of words across utterances. Although previous work with infants showed a positive relation between repetition and children's vocabulary, we predicted that this would not be the case later in development. Instead, parents may use less repetition as their children become increasingly proficient language learners. In the current study, we examined the extent to which low-income fathers of 24-month-olds (N=41) repeat words to their children using three indices: type-token ratio, automated repetition index, and partial repetition of open-class words. The same finding emerged across all measures of repetition: Fathers whose children had larger vocabularies at 24months repeated wordslessoften, suggesting a developmental coupling of fathers' input and children's language proficiency.

Self-perceived Coparenting of Nonresident Fathers: Scale Development and Validation.

This study reports on the development and validation of the Fatherhood Research and Practice Network coparenting perceptions scale for nonresident fathers. Although other measures of coparenting have been developed, this is the first measure developed specifically for low-income, nonresident fathers. Focus groups were conducted to determine various aspects of coparenting. Based on this, a scale was created and administered to 542 nonresident fathers. Participants also responded to items used to examine convergent and predictive validity (i.e., parental responsibility, contact with the mother, father self-efficacy and satisfaction, child behavior problems, and contact and engagement with the child). Factor analyses and reliability tests revealed three distinct and reliable perceived coparenting factors: undermining, alliance, and gatekeeping. Validity tests suggest substantial overlap between the undermining and alliance factors, though undermining was uniquely related to child behavior problems. The alliance and gatekeeping factors showed strong convergent validity and evidence for predictive validity. Taken together, results suggest this relatively short measure (11 items) taps into three coparenting dimensions significantly predictive of aspects of individual and family life.

FATHER PLAY: IS IT SPECIAL?

Both mothers and fathers play with their children, but research on parent-child play interactions is conducted with mothers three times more often than it is with fathers. The articles in this special issue address this gap by focusing on the nature and quality of father-child play, across cultural contexts, and considering whether father play offers something unique and special for early human development, in infancy or early childhood. The studies show that fathers can be just as developmentally supportive as are mothers in terms of being playful and engaged with their children in ways that are related to greater child socioemotional competence, emotion regulation, and vocabulary, and to less aggression, anxiety, and negativity. We encourage future research to examine the cultural influences, family system dynamics, and specificity of timing and types of father-child play in relation to children's developmental competence.

THE MAGIC OF PLAY: LOW-INCOME MOTHERS' AND FATHERS' PLAYFULNESS AND CHILDREN'S EMOTION REGULATION AND VOCABULARY SKILLS.

Using data from a diverse sample of low-income families who participated in the Early Head Start Research Evaluation Project (n = 73), we explored the association between mothers' and fathers' playfulness with toddlers, toddler's affect during play, and children's language and emotion regulation at prekindergarten. There were two main findings. First, fathers' playfulness in toddlerhood was associated with children's vocabulary skills in prekindergarten whereas mothers' playfulness was related to children's emotion regulation. Cross-parental effects were found only for mothers. The association between mothers' playfulness and children's vocabulary and emotion regulation was strengthened when fathers engaged in more pretend play and when children were affectively positive during the play. These findings show that playfulness is an important source of variation in the vocabulary and emotion regulation of children growing up in low-income families. They also point to domain-specific ways that mothers and fathers promote children's regulatory and vocabulary skills, and highlight the importance of children's positive engagement in play.

THE EARLY HOME ENVIRONMENT OF LATINO BOYS AND THEIR PEERS: A DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE.

Using a sample (N = 5,200) drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, we examined Latino boys' developmental profiles and their early home experiences from 9 months to kindergarten entry in comparison to their peers-Latina girls and White boys. We also examined how children's early home experiences related to outcomes at kindergarten entry and whether these varied by gender and ethnicity. Controlling for socioeconomic indicators, the largest mean group differences were between Latino and White boys, beginning at 24 months and persisting at kindergarten entry. There were modest differences between Latino boys and Latina girls on some outcomes, with boys showing an early and persistent advantage in math and girls showing a persistent advantage in social skills. Household resources and maternal and paternal investments in literacy activities were the strongest predictors of children's preacademic skills at kindergarten entry. Our model did not vary by gender or ethnicity, suggesting that the ingredients for learning are the same for all children.

Low-income fathers' speech to toddlers during book reading versus toy play.

Fathers' child-directed speech across two contexts was examined. Father-child dyads from sixty-nine low-income families were videotaped interacting during book reading and toy play when children were 2;0. Fathers used more diverse vocabulary and asked more questions during book reading while their mean length of utterance was longer during toy play. Variation in these specific characteristics of fathers' speech that differed across contexts was also positively associated with child vocabulary skill measured on the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory. Results are discussed in terms of how different contexts elicit specific qualities of child-directed speech that may promote language use and development.