Children's Family Relationships Between Two and Five: Developmental Changes and Individual Differences

Developmental changes in children's relationships with their mothers and older siblings between 33 and 69 months of age were investigated in a longitudinal study of 47 families, through an examination of family conversations and affect expressed during unstructured home observations. Mother-child interaction decreased and sibling interaction increased markedly over the period. The prominence of reflective commentary in children's discourse increased while self-interested moves decreased with both partners; however differences in emotional expression and in patterns of change in the two relationships were marked, with more positive and negative emotion and play with siblings. Individual differences in the trajectory of these changes were correlated with early differences in social understanding, and with SES. The association between children's developing social understanding and these changes in relationships is discussed.