Abstract:

Children engage in reciprocal knowledge exchange, demonstrating both their adeptness in learning from others and their proactive role in teaching what they know. The developmental origins of children's teaching and selectivity in information transmission is a recent research area. Here, we present insights from two studies delving into the early manifestations of toddlers' information sharing during the second year of life, observed through video analyses of natural home interactions. In Study-1, we explored natural interactions of 18-month-old Turkish toddlers (N=43), while the Study-2 focused on American toddlers (N=47) across three time points (13-, 18-, 23-months). Employing a novel behavioural coding scheme, the studies aimed to unravel toddler-initiated interactions and the prevalence of information sharing within these interactions. Study-2 additionally explored toddlers' responses to their parents’ genuine information-seeking attempts. Both studies showed that while toddler-initiated information sharing was observed, it was rare in both contexts. Notably, Study-2 revealed a developmental trajectory, indicating an increased frequency of information-giving events initiated by toddlers, both elicited and non-elicited, from 13 to 23 months. In conclusion, our research contributes to the nuanced dynamics of toddler’s early information sharing by focusing on natural observation of everyday behaviours in two different cultures.

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