Toys that squeak: Toy type impacts quality and quantity of parent-child interactions

Given the dependent nature of parent-infant interactions necessary for language development, it is important to understand how context may influence these interactions. This study examines how contextual variables influence communicative, cognitive and social measures of parent-infant interactions. Specifically, how do feedback toys and traditional toys associate with important parent and child measures necessary for learning and development? Here we report evidence that toy type is associated with quality and quantity of parent-child interactions. Condition 1 examined parent-child interactions during two separate play sessions; one contained feedback toys and the other contained traditional toys. Condition 2 combined the toys so dyads had access to both types at the same time. Infants produced higher levels of directed vocalizations and directed gestures, but had shorter durations of sustained attention, when interacting with traditional toys compared to feedback toys. Parents responded more to infants' vocalizations and gestures when interacting with traditional toys. In general, these results suggest that toy properties can play a significant role in parent-infant interactions.