Number Input in Mothers and Fathers of 9-Month-Olds

The present study examined patterns of number-related utterances and actions directed to 9-month-old infants by their parents. An ethnically and economically diverse sample of 86 families participated in structured play sessions conducted separately with the mothers and fathers of each infant. Data were coded for eight math talk categories, and these codes were analyzed for frequency, as well as complexity (number of categories mentioned within each 30-sec time interval) and diversity (number of categories mentioned across the entire play session). Number-related utterances and actions were frequent, with cardinality, one-to-one correspondence, and non-numerical quantitative terms (e.g., some, less) being most frequent. Mothers and fathers both provided frequent and diverse input, though mothers provided significantly more math talk than fathers for abstract counting and equivalence/non-equivalence, and mothers mentioned significantly more categories overall than fathers. Both non-numerical quantitative relations and cardinality were significantly associated with children's preschool numeracy outcomes, though the association was negative for cardinality. Furthermore, fathers' numeracy input and mothers' total talk were also significantly and positively associated with children's numeracy outcomes.