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Less Is More: Parent Talk and Child Executive Function from Age 5 to 6

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Title: Less Is More: Parent Talk and Child Executive Function from Age 5 to 6
Language: English
Authors: Mishika Mehrotra, Elian Fink (ORCID 0000-0002-0328-9685), Jean A. Heng, Rory T. Devine, Hana D'Souza (ORCID 0000-0001-8841-8644), Claire Hughes (ORCID 0000-0003-2545-3025), Ready or Not Study Team
Source: Social Development. 2026 35(2).
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 12
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Parenting Styles, Parent Child Relationship, Interpersonal Communication, Executive Function, Preschool Children, Self Control, Play, Social Influences
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom (England)
DOI: 10.1111/sode.70064
ISSN: 0961-205X
1467-9507
Abstract: This longitudinal study examines different domains of parenting as independent predictors of gains in children's executive function (EF). Day-long naturalistic audio recordings of family talk were gathered at Time 1 for 70 children from England (40 girls, M[subscript age] = 5.41 years, SD = 0.33; 85.7% of caregivers had degree-level education), alongside remote observations of parent-child dyads (87.1% mothers) engaging in a 5-min structured play task, which was coded for parent responsiveness, positive control, and talk complexity. At Time 1 and one year later at Time 2 (M[subscript age] = 6.42 years, SD = 0.31), children completed three EF tasks (Fish Flanker, Backwards Animal Span, Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders) and a measure of receptive vocabulary. Contrary to expectations, parent talk quantity (adult word count) at home was inversely associated with later EF, suggesting that greater talk by parents may limit opportunities for children to practice self-regulation. Parent responsiveness and positive control in structured play showed independent positive associations with children's EF concurrently but not over time. These findings highlight the importance of including a broad range of parental measures to investigate social influences on EF.
Abstractor: As Provided
Notes: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/YDERS
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1504176
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: Less Is More: Parent Talk and Child Executive Function from Age 5 to 6
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  Data: English
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mishika+Mehrotra%22">Mishika Mehrotra</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Elian+Fink%22">Elian Fink</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0328-9685">0000-0002-0328-9685</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jean+A%2E+Heng%22">Jean A. Heng</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rory+T%2E+Devine%22">Rory T. Devine</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hana+D'Souza%22">Hana D'Souza</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8841-8644">0000-0001-8841-8644</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Claire+Hughes%22">Claire Hughes</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2545-3025">0000-0003-2545-3025</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ready+or+Not+Study+Team%22">Ready or Not Study Team</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Social+Development%22"><i>Social Development</i></searchLink>. 2026 35(2).
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  Label: Availability
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
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  Data: Y
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  Data: 12
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parenting+Styles%22">Parenting Styles</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parent+Child+Relationship%22">Parent Child Relationship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interpersonal+Communication%22">Interpersonal Communication</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Executive+Function%22">Executive Function</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preschool+Children%22">Preschool Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self+Control%22">Self Control</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Play%22">Play</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Influences%22">Social Influences</searchLink>
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  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom+%28England%29%22">United Kingdom (England)</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1111/sode.70064
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  Data: 0961-205X<br />1467-9507
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: This longitudinal study examines different domains of parenting as independent predictors of gains in children's executive function (EF). Day-long naturalistic audio recordings of family talk were gathered at Time 1 for 70 children from England (40 girls, M[subscript age] = 5.41 years, SD = 0.33; 85.7% of caregivers had degree-level education), alongside remote observations of parent-child dyads (87.1% mothers) engaging in a 5-min structured play task, which was coded for parent responsiveness, positive control, and talk complexity. At Time 1 and one year later at Time 2 (M[subscript age] = 6.42 years, SD = 0.31), children completed three EF tasks (Fish Flanker, Backwards Animal Span, Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders) and a measure of receptive vocabulary. Contrary to expectations, parent talk quantity (adult word count) at home was inversely associated with later EF, suggesting that greater talk by parents may limit opportunities for children to practice self-regulation. Parent responsiveness and positive control in structured play showed independent positive associations with children's EF concurrently but not over time. These findings highlight the importance of including a broad range of parental measures to investigate social influences on EF.
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  Data: As Provided
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  Data: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/YDERS
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  Data: 2026
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  Label: Accession Number
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  Data: EJ1504176
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        Value: 10.1111/sode.70064
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 12
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parenting Styles
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parent Child Relationship
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      – SubjectFull: Interpersonal Communication
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      – SubjectFull: Executive Function
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      – SubjectFull: Preschool Children
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      – SubjectFull: Play
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      – SubjectFull: Social Influences
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      – SubjectFull: United Kingdom (England)
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      – TitleFull: Less Is More: Parent Talk and Child Executive Function from Age 5 to 6
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