MOTHERS' CONVERSATIONAL STYLE IN A CHANGING DEVELOPMENTAL CONTEXT

The societal changes in Estonia have altered the beliefs and values related to childrearing in the direction of stressing more autonomy and self-direction in children. This study addresses the question if and to what extent the amount of talk and communicative intents of Estonian mothers have changed over time period of approximately 25 years. With this aim, we compared mothers' interactions with two-year-old children in years 1992, 2000, and 2017. The results show that mothers have become less directive during puzzle solving but not at meals. Mothers' interaction with children has not changed in respect of the amount of talk produced by mothers and children. Moreover, the study demonstrated that mothers' conversational style, as well as changes in it over time, depends largely on interactional context.