The Effects of Peers on Toddler Interaction with Mother and Toys

RUBENSTEIN, JUDITH, and HOWES, CAROLLEE. The Effects of Peers on Toddler Interaction with Mother and Toys. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1976, 47, 597-605. 8 19-month-old toddlers were observed during free play at home, with and without a familiar toddler playmate. With the peer present there was significantly more high-level play with toys and less low-level play with toys than with the peer absent. No significant differences were found in total time or involvement playing with objects, or in mother-toddler play involving objects. During the peer's visit, the toddlers played with, imitated, and offered objects to the peer significantly more often than they engaged in similar interactions with their mothers. Less verbal interaction with mother occurred during the peer's presence than during the peer's absence; in contrast, frequencies of mother-toddler non-care-giving touching were similar. The findings suggest the importance of the peer as a social object in the second year of life. Peers enhance toddlers' competence with their own toys. Moreover, the selective effect on verbal versus tactile interaction with mother suggests some differentiation of the social from emotional aspects of the mother-toddler relationship at this age.