Mothers' and Fathers' Engagement in Math Activities with Their Toddler Sons and Daughters: The Moderating Role of Parental Math Beliefs

Overview

Journal Front Psychol

Date 2023 Mar 30

PMID 36993892

Authors

Alex M Silver

Yu Chen

Darcy K Smith

Catherine S Tamis-LeMonda

Natasha Cabrera

Melissa E Libertus

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Parents' beliefs about the importance of math predicts their math engagement with their children. However, most work focuses on mothers' math engagement with preschool- and school-aged children, leaving gaps in knowledge about fathers and the experiences of toddlers. We examined differences in mothers' and fathers' ( = 94) engagement in math- and non-math activities with their two-year-old girls and boys. Parents reported their beliefs about the importance of math and literacy for young children and their frequency of home learning activities. Parents of sons did not differ in their engagement in math activities from parents of daughters. Mothers reported engaging more frequently in math activities with their toddlers than fathers did, but the difference reduced when parents endorsed stronger beliefs about the importance of math for children. Even at very early ages, children experience vastly different opportunities to learn math in the home, with math-related experiences being shaped by both parent gender and parents' beliefs.

References

Hornburg C, Borriello G, Kung M, Lin J, Litkowski E, Cosso J . Next Directions in Measurement of the Home Mathematics Environment: An International and Interdisciplinary Perspective. J Numer Cogn. 2021; 7(2):195-220. PMC: 8589301. DOI: 10.5964/jnc.6143. View

Del Rio M, Strasser K, Cvencek D, Susperreguy M, Meltzoff A . Chilean kindergarten children's beliefs about mathematics: Family matters. Dev Psychol. 2018; 55(4):687-702. DOI: 10.1037/dev0000658. View

Hart S, Petrill S, Thompson L, Plomin R . The ABCs of Math: A Genetic Analysis of Mathematics and Its Links With Reading Ability and General Cognitive Ability. J Educ Psychol. 2010; 101(2):388. PMC: 2821062. DOI: 10.1037/a0015115. View

Siegler R, Duncan G, Davis-Kean P, Duckworth K, Claessens A, Engel M . Early predictors of high school mathematics achievement. Psychol Sci. 2012; 23(7):691-7. DOI: 10.1177/0956797612440101. View

Duncan G, Dowsett C, Claessens A, Magnuson K, Huston A, Klebanov P . School readiness and later achievement. Dev Psychol. 2007; 43(6):1428-1446. DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1428. View

Silver A, Libertus M . Environmental influences on mathematics performance in early childhood. Nat Rev Psychol. 2022; 1(7):407-418. PMC: 9624502. DOI: 10.1038/s44159-022-00061-z. View

Elliott L, Braham E, Libertus M . Understanding sources of individual variability in parents' number talk with young children. J Exp Child Psychol. 2017; 159:1-15. DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2017.01.011. View

Girard C, Bastelica T, Leone J, Epinat-Duclos J, Longo L, Prado J . The relation between home numeracy practices and a variety of math skills in elementary school children. PLoS One. 2021; 16(9):e0255400. PMC: 8452026. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255400. View

Mutaf-Yildiz B, Sasanguie D, De Smedt B, Reynvoet B . Probing the Relationship Between Home Numeracy and Children's Mathematical Skills: A Systematic Review. Front Psychol. 2020; 11:2074. PMC: 7530373. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02074. View

10.

Wigfield , Eccles . Expectancy-Value Theory of Achievement Motivation. Contemp Educ Psychol. 2000; 25(1):68-81. DOI: 10.1006/ceps.1999.1015. View

11.

Crowley K, Callanan M, Tenenbaum H, Allen E . Parents explain more often to boys than to girls during shared scientific thinking. Psychol Sci. 2001; 12(3):258-61. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9280.00347. View

12.

Mutaf Yildiz B, Sasanguie D, De Smedt B, Reynvoet B . Frequency of Home Numeracy Activities Is Differentially Related to Basic Number Processing and Calculation Skills in Kindergartners. Front Psychol. 2018; 9:340. PMC: 5874519. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00340. View

13.

Hart S, Ganley C, Purpura D . Understanding the Home Math Environment and Its Role in Predicting Parent Report of Children's Math Skills. PLoS One. 2016; 11(12):e0168227. PMC: 5179117. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168227. View

14.

Libertus M, Brannon E . Stable individual differences in number discrimination in infancy. Dev Sci. 2010; 13(6):900-6. PMC: 2966022. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00948.x. View

15.

Jordan N, Levine S . Socioeconomic variation, number competence, and mathematics learning difficulties in young children. Dev Disabil Res Rev. 2009; 15(1):60-8. DOI: 10.1002/ddrr.46. View

16.

Hildebrand L, Posid T, Moss-Racusin C, Hymes L, Cordes S . Does my daughter like math? Relations between parent and child math attitudes and beliefs. Dev Sci. 2022; 26(1):e13243. DOI: 10.1111/desc.13243. View

17.

Morawska A . The Effects of Gendered Parenting on Child Development Outcomes: A Systematic Review. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2020; 23(4):553-576. DOI: 10.1007/s10567-020-00321-5. View

18.

Tenenbaum H, Leaper C . Are parents' gender schemas related to their children's gender-related cognitions? A meta-analysis. Dev Psychol. 2002; 38(4):615-30. DOI: 10.1037//0012-1649.38.4.615. View

19.

Rolle L, Gullotta G, Trombetta T, Curti L, Gerino E, Brustia P . Father Involvement and Cognitive Development in Early and Middle Childhood: A Systematic Review. Front Psychol. 2019; 10:2405. PMC: 6823210. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02405. View

20.

Silver A, Elliott L, Libertus M . When beliefs matter most: Examining children's math achievement in the context of parental math anxiety. J Exp Child Psychol. 2020; 201:104992. PMC: 7572889. DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104992. View