Early understanding of the functions of print: Parent-child interaction and preschoolers' notating skills

Preschoolers' ability to produce, read, and use written marks (notating skills) reflects an early understanding of the functions of print. The relation between preschoolers' notating skills and parents' level of assistance when notating, talk about the purpose of writing, and elaborative talk was examined. Sixty preschoolers played a grocery-list task, where they produced, decoded, and used notations for problem-solving. Then, parents and children played the grocery-list task together and discussed a past event. Children with better notating skills had parents who provided more assistance when notating and used more elaborative talk, but did not talk more about the purpose of writing. Findings suggest the role of parental talk styles and level of assistance in preschoolers' understanding of the functions of print.