Redirective labels and early vocabulary development

Parents' object labels can be distinguished by whether the child is already attending to the object (follow-in) or not (lead-in). Lead-in labels have been found to be associated with low vocabulary. The current study examines whether the relation between lead-in labels and child vocabulary is influenced by whether the child's attention is redirected. Eighteen mother-infant dyads were videotaped at 1;2, 1;6 and 1;10. Results indicate that parents' use of successful lead-in labels is positively correlated with children's vocabulary, whereas use of unsuccessful labels is negatively correlated. Finally, use of gesture is associated with the redirective success of lead-in labels.