Variations in parental talk about numbers and money during pretend play with 4-year-olds

• In Event: Poster Session 05
  In Poster Session: PS 05 Topic - School Readiness/Childcare

Abstract

The quality and quantity of parents’ number word use during parent-child interactions, in particular when counting or labeling large sets of physically present objects, is associated with greater cardinal-number knowledge (Gunderson & Levine, 2011). However, contextual variations and differences in observed activities may also affect the frequency of parents’ number talk (Thippana et al., 2020). One area where parents may choose to incorporate number and math talk more generally is while using or playing with money. Previous research has shown that physical money can act as a useful aid in math performance and learning (Guberman, 1996), particularly for children who have less exposure to formal learning environments (Guberman, 2004). In addition, when parents are encouraged to pretend to shop on a budget with their children, they engage in significantly more number talk than when they are encouraged to pretend to shop for a healthy meal (Braham, Libertus & McCrink, 2018). However, none of these previous studies focused on talk about money specifically and explored how it relates to parents’ use of number words.

This study draws data from the Parents Promoting Early Learning project. Data were collected on a socioeconomically diverse sample of 73 4-year-old children (37 girls) and their parents (66 mothers). Families were video recorded in their homes while playing with a pretend grocery store set that included pretend food, cash register, credit card, and money (ones, fives, tens, pennies, nickels, and dimes). Recordings were coded for parents’ utterances containing number and money talk. Number talk utterances contained or elicited responses containing number words and were further categorized in a variety of math-related categories, including arithmetic, counting, and numeral identification. Money talk utterances contained number words specifically in the context of money (e.g., “that’s five dollars”) but also references to money or purchasing that did not contain number words (e.g., “that’s expensive”). All money talk utterances were further categorized into content types: arithmetic, counting, numeral identification, labeling an amount of money, labeling a price of an object, naming bills or coins, talking about finance, and explaining exchange procedures.

Frequencies of number and money talk for the different categories of each can be found in Tables 1 and 2. Importantly, while number and money talk show some overlap, there is also a substantial amount of number and money talk that is not captured by the other. For categories used in both coding schemes, parents showed no significant difference in arithmetic utterances, t(72) = 0.6, p = .28, but significantly less number identification and counting in money talk than in number talk, t(72) = 2.69, p = .04, and t(72) = 3.49, p < .001, respectively. The overlap in arithmetic utterances between number and money talk suggests that, while parents count and read number symbols with and without money during this play, any arithmetic they perform is usually facilitated by money . Subsequent analysis will consider family and child level predictors of individual differences in number and money talk as well as associations between money talk and children early mathematical skills.

Authors

• Olivia Cristina Sidoti, University of Pittsburgh
  Presenting Author

• Shirley Duong, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author

• Margaret Laird, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author

• Heather J. Bachman, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author

• Melissa E Libertus, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author