Similarities in Mother’ and Fathers’ Toddler Interactions and Links with School Readiness

Despite fathers’ growing involvement in childcare, studies of parental influences on children’s school readiness rarely adopt a dual focus on both mothers and fathers. We respond to this gap via two studies. Study One examined similarities, differences and longitudinal links between displays of positive affect and reciprocity in home-based play observations of 185 mother-toddler and father-toddler dyadic interactions at two timepoints (14- and 24-months). At 14-months, mothers displayed higher average levels of positive affect than fathers, but there were no mean differences by parent gender in dyadic reciprocity. Within-family associations strengthened over time, and by 24 months, average levels of positive affect and dyadic reciprocity were similar for mothers and fathers. Mother-toddler reciprocity and maternal positive affect at 14-months each predicted father-toddler reciprocity at 24-months, controlling for fathers’ behaviour at 14 months. Building on these findings, Study Two involved an age 48-months follow-up of 77 children, for whom teachers rated school-readiness, including subscales of language and cognition, daily living skills, behavioural regulation, and family support. Significant contrasts were found in associations between mother- and father-toddler interactions and domains of school readiness. Father-toddler reciprocity at 24-months predicted children’s language and cognition skills, while mothers’ positive affect at 24-months predicted children’s daily living skills. Neither dimensions of parent-toddler interactions predicted children’s behavioural regulation. Together, these findings highlight the need to consider interactions across family subsystems and the importance of fathers in parenting support and school readiness interventions.