How Different Artifacts Elicit Different Caregiver-Child Interactions: An Examination of Book Sharing and Puzzle Play

Interactions between children and their caregivers represent an important factor of child development. Book sharing and other play interactions are common ways in which caregivers and their preschool-age children interact. Shared book reading has many benefits in early childhood, but some researchers have suggested that children may become passive in such interactions. Additionally, with caregivers having sole access to the information in the text, they may be less open to contributions the child puts forth if they conflict with the text. In contrast, a more symmetrical and cooperative activity, such as putting together a puzzle, may elicit more participation from the child and less categorical input from the caregiver. In a study with 59 2- and 3-year-olds and their caregivers engaging in one of these two activities, we find that interactions centered around the puzzle artifact are characterized by more meaningful participation on the part of the child and less definitive corrections on the part of the caregiver compared to book-based interactions. These findings suggest that alternatives to shared book reading with 2- and 3-year-olds may nudge children to express themselves more creatively when interacting with caregivers. Implications for the design of learning experiences for preschoolers are discussed.