Making Room for Play: An innovative Intervention for Toddlers and Families Under Rocket Fire

Evidence from both clinical reports and empirical research suggests that symbolic play may help heal children’s traumas. Playfulness, an enduring individual characteristic, also contributes to resilience. However, trauma often sabotages children’s ability to engage in imaginary play and parents’ ability to be involved in playful interactions with their young children. This paper describes an innovative preventive group-intervention program by the name of NAMAL (Hebrew acronym for Let’s Make Room for Play), designed for mothers and their toddlers who live under the chronic stress of recurrent missile attacks in Israel. The major objective of the program is to bolster children’s resilience by enhancing their playful interactions with their mothers. The theme and activities of each session are organized around a saying with a relational or developmental message. Reports collected from 70 mothers after their participation in the program highlighted the success of the intervention and the changes in the children and parents, as well as in their interactions with each other. Follow-up interviews conducted a year after the intervention provided further information on the long-term positive effects of the program.     

Exploring the relation between maternal mind‐mindedness and children’s symbolic play: A longitudinal study from 6 to 18 months

Relations between mothers’ mind‐mindedness (appropriate attunement to their infants’ internal states) at 6 and 12 months and infants’ early symbolic play during infant–mother pretense at 12 and 18 months were investigated in a sample of 43 mothers and infants. Mothers’ appropriate mind‐related comments were associated with average level, length, complexity, and maturity level of symbolic play. Specific sub‐categories of appropriate mind‐related comments were identified as independent predictors of children's symbolic play. Appropriate comments about desires and cognitions at 6 months were associated with average level and length of episodes, as well as with maturity level of symbolic play at 12 months. Longitudinal stability in the appropriateness and content of mothers’ mind‐related comments was also investigated. The results are discussed in terms of the proposal that attunement to specific types of internal state should vary as a function of infant age in order to index mind‐mindedness.     

Becoming a Communicative Partner: Infant Contingent Responsiveness to Maternal Language and Gestures

Infant contingent responsiveness to maternal language and gestures was examined in 190 Mexican American, Dominican American, and African American infant–mother dyads when infants were 14 and 24 months. Dyads were video‐recorded during book‐sharing and play. Videos were coded for the timing of infants’ vocalizations and gestures and mothers’ referential language (i.e., statements that inform infants about objects and events in the world; e.g., “That's a big doggy!”), regulatory language (i.e., statements that regulate infants’ attention or actions; e.g., “Look at that”, “Put it down!”), and gestures. Infants of all three ethnicities responded within 3 sec of mothers’ language and gestures, increased their responsiveness over development, and displayed specificity in their responses: They vocalized and gestured following mothers’ referential language and gestures, but were less likely than chance to communicate following mothers’ regulatory language. At an individual level, responsive infants had responsive mothers.     

Cultural and Contextual Influences on Parenting in Mexican American Families

Family stress theory can explain associations between contextual stressors and parenting. The theory, however, has not been tested among Mexican Americans or expanded to include cultural‐contextual risks. This study examined associations between neighborhood, economic, and acculturative stressors and parenting behaviors in a sample of 570 two‐parent Mexican American families. Results support the negative impact of economic stress on parenting through parental depressive symptoms. Neighborhood stress influenced fathers’ depressive symptoms and parenting, but not mothers’. The effects of acculturative stress were inconsistent. Results suggest that contextual stressors common to Mexican American families impact parenting behaviors through parental depression.     

Thinking with the Mind,Syncing with the Body: Ballet as Symbolic and Nonsymbolic Interaction

Symbolic interactionist theory describes self‐consciousness as arising through symbolic interaction. I use one empirical case, ballet training, to suggest that symbolic interaction can, by producing self‐consciousness, cultivate unself‐consciousness. Using in‐depth interviews with twenty‐three individuals reporting on training experiences in six countries and twenty‐three American states, I show that dancers can learn, through self‐conscious symbolic interaction, how it feels to embody what an audience sees, as they strive to train their bodies to portray an institutionalized aesthetic. The embodiment of technique facilitates a markedly unself‐conscious “flow” experience while performing. In contrast, having an acute awareness of embodying an incompatible physiology inhibits flow and often motivates dancers to self‐select out of ballet. These interactionist sources of “nonsymbolic” interaction both evoke and suppress “mind” through social interaction.     

Mothers' Verbal and Nonverbal Strategies in Relation to Infants' Object‐Directed Actions in Real Time and Across the First Three Years in Ethnically Diverse Families

We examined maternal behavioral strategies in relation to infants' object‐directed actions in real time and over developmental time in 206 mother–infant dyads from African American, Dominican immigrant, and Mexican immigrant backgrounds. Mothers were asked to share a set of beads and strings with their infants when children were 14, 24, and 36 months. We coded three types of maternal strategies—eliciting attention, instructive assistance, and encouragement—which could be expressed verbally (e.g., “look”, “turn it”, “good job!”) or physically (i.e., through gestures, hands‐on guidance, or transfer of objects). We also coded infants' unassisted bead‐stringing. Across ethnic groups and ages, mothers' hands‐on guidance and object transfer increased the likelihood that infants would follow with unassisted bead‐stringing during real‐time interaction. Over developmental time, mothers modified their strategies: They displayed fewer attention‐getting strategies and more encouragement across infant ages, and peaked in their provision of instructive assistance when infants were 24 months. Additionally, Mexican mothers displayed more nonverbal strategies (e.g., gestures, hands‐on guidance) than did African American and/or Dominican mothers, who displayed more verbal strategies (e.g., attention‐getting and encouraging language). Developmental and real‐time patterns in mother–infant object‐related interactions generalize across ethnicities, although mothers' emphases on specific strategies are culture specific.     

Acculturation and Enculturation Trajectories Among Mexican‐American Adolescent Offenders

This study examines changes over time in ethnic affirmation/belonging and ethnic identity achievement, Spanish language use, English language use, Mexican/Mexican‐American affiliation/identification and Anglo affiliation/identification in a sample of Mexican‐American adolescents participating in a longitudinal study of juvenile offenders. The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure and the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans‐II were completed by the Mexican‐American adolescents 7 times over a 3‐year period. The findings from longitudinal growth modeling analyses and growth mixture modeling analyses indicate that there is heterogeneity in the initial scores and changes over time on these variables that are related to markers for the cultural qualities of the home environment (i.e., generational status and mother's most frequent language use). In contrast to expectations, marginalized or assimilated acculturation trajectories/types were not overrepresented in this sample of adolescent offenders. Implications for our understanding of the nature of acculturation and enculturation processes and the way these processes are studied are discussed.     

Pregnancy Acceptance,Parenting Stress,and Toddler Attachment in Low‐Income Black Families

Questionnaire items tapping feelings about pregnancy were administered to 173 young, low‐income primiparous Black mothers who either were pregnant or had delivered within the past year. A factor analysis indicated that 11 items together measured mothers’ acceptance of the pregnancies that resulted in the births of their first children. Links to mothers’ later parenting stress, warmth, and their toddlers’ attachment security were explored. Pregnancy acceptance was a negative predictor of one aspect of maternal parenting stress (distress resulting from feelings that parenting is burdensome) and a positive predictor of toddler attachment security. It did not, however, predict another aspect of parenting stress (feelings that interactions with children are not enjoyable) or maternal warmth.     

Interparental Relations,Maternal Employment,and Fathering in Mexican American Families

This study examined independent and interactive relations between the interparental relationship and maternal employment in predicting fathering within low‐income, Mexican American two‐parent families (N = 115). Interparental conflict was negatively related to quality fathering, and these relations were noted only for single‐earner families. The parenting alliance was positively related to quality fathering irrespective of maternal employment. Fathering was associated with lower levels of child depression and conduct problems. Results suggest that bolstering quality fathering is a useful avenue for improving child well‐being and that strengthening the interparental relationship can support quality fathering and child mental health within Mexican American families.     

Early Manifestations of Children’s Theory of Mind: The Roles of Maternal Mind‐Mindedness and Infant Security of Attachment

This study investigated two aspects of mother–child relationships—mothers’ mind‐mindedness and infant attachment security—in relation to two early aspects of children’s theory of mind development (ToM). Sixty‐one mother–child dyads (36 girls) participated in testing phases at 12 (T1), 15 (T2), and 26 months of age (T3), allowing for assessment of maternal mind‐mindedness (T1), infant attachment (T2), and child ToM understanding (T3). Results indicated that children’s understanding of discrepant desires and visual perspectives was positively related to their mothers’ earlier use of appropriate mind‐related comments in certain contexts. Furthermore, more securely attached boys, but not girls, performed better on a task requiring comprehension of their mothers’ visual perspective. Hence, the links previously found between competent parenting and older children’s ToM performance appear to extend, to a certain degree, to toddlers’ first manifestations of ToM understanding.     

Linking Perceived Discrimination to Longitudinal Changes in African American Mothers’ Parenting Practices

This longitudinal study was designed to test hypotheses, derived from a stress proliferation framework, regarding the association between perceived racial discrimination and changes in parenting among African American mothers in the rural South. A sample of 139 mothers and their children were interviewed 3 times at 1‐year intervals. Mothers reported on perceived discrimination and two proliferated stressors: stress‐related health problems and depressive symptoms. Both mothers and children reported on mothers’ competence‐promoting parenting. Structural equation modeling revealed a chain‐like sequence: Perceived discrimination forecast increases in mothers’ stress‐related health problems, which in turn were positively associated with depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms constituted the proximal variable associated with decreases in mothers’ competence‐promoting parenting. These results emerged independent of socioeconomic characteristics.     

Race‐Ethnic Differences in Nonmarital Fertility: A Focus on Mexican American Women

We use the National Survey of Family Growth to identify race‐ethnic differences in nonmarital fertility, paying particular attention to Mexican American women. On the basis of a sample of 9,054 White, Black, and Mexican American women, we use event history methods to explore the role of family background, a woman’s own employment and school enrollment, and cohabitation on nonmarital fertility. We additionally determine whether these relationships vary by socioeconomic background. The above factors are all significantly related to the risk of a nonmarital birth and reduce Mexican American–White differentials. Interestingly, higher fertility within cohabiting unions among Mexican American women, despite lower levels of cohabitation, contributes to their higher nonmarital fertility relative to White women.     

Symbolic play provides a fertile context for language development

In this study, we test the hypothesis that symbolic play represents a fertile context for language acquisition because its inherent ambiguity elicits communicative behaviors that positively influence development. Infant–caregiver dyads (N = 54) participated in two 20-minute play sessions six months apart (Time 1 = 18 months, Time 2 = 24 months). During each session, the dyads played with two sets of toys that elicited either symbolic or functional play. The sessions were transcribed and coded for several features of dyadic interaction and language; infants’ linguistic proficiency was measured via parental report. The two contexts elicited different communicative and linguistic behaviors. Notably, the symbolic play condition resulted in significantly greater conversational turn-taking than functional play, and also resulted in the greater use of questions and mimetics in infant-directed speech (IDS). In contrast, caregivers used more imperative clauses in functional play. Correlational and regression analyses showed that frequent properties of symbolic play (i.e., turn-taking, yes–no questions, mimetics) were positively related to infants’ language proficiency, whereas frequent features of functional play (i.e., imperatives in IDS) were negatively related. The results provide evidence supporting the hypothesis that symbolic play is a fertile context for language development, driven by the need to negotiate meaning.     

Comparative and Individual Perspectives on Mother–Infant Interactions with People and Objects among South Koreans,Korean Americans,and European Americans

Comparative and individual acculturation of mother and infant person‐directed and object‐directed behaviors and interactions were investigated among 183 South Korean, Korean American, and European American mothers and their 5½‐month‐old infants. We analyzed and compared mean levels in mothers’ and infants’ person‐ and object‐directed behaviors and partner responsiveness and initiation of these behaviors in dyads in the three cultural groups. Among Korean American dyads, we also analyzed individual‐level variation in the acculturation of these behaviors and interactions. This study reveals how contrasting South Korean and European American cultural values are embedded and manifested in early mother–infant interactions and how cultural values from South Korean origin and European American destination cultures are interwoven in Korean American mother–infant interactions.     

Multimodal representational gestures in the transition to multi-word productions

The aim of this study was to analyze the use of representational gestures from a multimodal point of view in the transition from one-word to multi-word constructions. Twenty-one Spanish-speaking children were observed longitudinally at 18, 21, 24, and 30 months of age. We analyzed the production of deictic, symbolic, and conventional gestures and their coordination with different verbal elements. Moreover, we explored the relationship between gestural multimodal and unimodal productions and independent measures of language development. Results showed that gesture production remains stable in the period studied. Whereas deictic gestures are frequent and mostly multimodal from the beginning, conventional gestures are rare and mainly unimodal. Symbolic gestures are initially unimodal, but between 24 and 30 months of age, this pattern reverses, with more multimodal symbolic gestures than unimodal. In addition, the frequency of multimodal representational gestures at specific ages seems to be positively related to independent measures of vocabulary and morphosyntax development. By contrast, the production of unimodal representational gestures appears negatively related to these measures. Our results suggest that multimodal representational gestures could have a facilitating role in the process of learning to combine meanings for communicative goals.     

Maternal dynamic respiratory sinus arrhythmia during toddlers’ interactions with novelty

Maternal psychophysiological responses to toddlers’ distress to novelty may have important implications for parenting during early childhood that are relevant to children's eventual development of social withdrawal and anxiety. Likely, these responses depend on intrapersonal, interpersonal, and contextual factors. The current study investigated the time course of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) across two laboratory novelty episodes, one low threat and one moderate threat, in 120 mothers of 2-year-old toddlers. Growth models tested context differences in and correlates of dynamic patterns of RSA. Dynamic patterns differed between tasks and according to mothers’ perceptions of and distress about toddler shyness. Thus, changes in mothers’ RSA across toddlers’ interactions with novelty seem to depend on the context as well as how mothers perceive and respond to their toddlers’ shyness.     

Play and Imitation: Multimodal Interaction and Second-Language Development in Preschool

This article targets the multimodal character of children’s play and its potential for scaffolding second-language development. We follow children who are newcomers to a Swedish preschool and analyze their interactions. Play is, we argue, based on rules or tacit agreements between children, originating in the human capacity of imitation, and creates an opportunity to test out cultural patterns. Despite their limited language abilities, the children naturally engage in bodily play interactions where different objects are deployed. This can potentially underpin second-language development, not least when a child or teacher with better Swedish language proficiency participates.     

Mothers’ Goals for Adolescents in the United States and China: Content and Transmission

This research examined children's socialization toward culturally valued goals during adolescence in the United States and China. Two hundred and twenty‐three mothers listed and ranked their five most important goals for their children (mean age = 12.85 years). Children ranked the importance of the goals listed by their mothers and explained why they were or were not important to them. American mothers placed heightened emphasis on their children maintaining feelings of worth and pursuing what they enjoy. Chinese mothers stressed their children achieving outcomes, as did African American mothers. European American children's rankings of importance were the least similar to those of their mothers, and they gave the fewest autonomous reasons for importance, suggesting that their adoption of mothers’ goals was weakest.     

Family Cohesion in the Lives of Mexican American and European American Parents

This study investigated similarities and differences in relations between stress and parenting behaviors for 509 Mexican American and European American fathers and mothers in Southern California. Our model posited that family cohesion mediates the relation between stressors and parenting behavior, and we found that family cohesion strongly mediated most of the relations between stress and parenting behaviors. Important ethnic and gender differences were evident. In contrast with other groups, Mexican American fathers reported higher levels of family cohesion when faced with economic pressures. Implications for future research on stress and parenting are discussed.     

Infant Symbolic Play as an Early Indicator of Fetal Alcohol‐Related Deficit

Infant symbolic play was examined in relation to prenatal alcohol exposure and socioenvironmental background and to predict which infants met criteria for fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) at 5 years. A total of 107 Cape‐Colored, South African infants born to heavy drinking mothers and abstainers/light drinkers were recruited prenatally. Complexity of play, sociodemographic and psychological correlates of maternal alcohol use, and quality of parenting were assessed at 13 months, and intelligence quotient and FAS diagnosis at 5 years. The effect of drinking on spontaneous play was not significant after control for social environment. In contrast, prenatal alcohol and quality of parenting related independently to elicited play. Elicited play predicted 5‐year Digit Span and was poorer in infants subsequently diagnosed with FAS/partial FAS and in nonsyndromal heavily exposed infants, compared with abstainers/light drinkers. Thus, symbolic play may provide an early indicator of risk for alcohol‐related deficits. The independent effects of prenatal alcohol and quality of parenting suggest that infants whose symbolic play is adversely affected by alcohol exposure may benefit from stimulation from a responsive caregiver.