Background Various conversational contexts elicit stimulating parent–child interactions to a different degree. Shared reading, a scripted activity, is reported to elicit most abstract speech compared with other activities (e.g., toy play). Parental socioeconomic status (SES) is another key predictor of abstract talk. Shared reading can attenuate differences in abstract speech between SES groups. In the current study, we compared abstraction of parent–child interactions during nonscripted prompting board and shared reading activities. A prompting board is a complex picture around a certain theme, depicting a scenario (i.e., a picture suggesting a sequence of events), and is meant to elicit child speech. Method We observed 44 parent–child dyads (87% mothers; child Mage: 63 months) from various socioeconomic backgrounds during prompting board and shared reading discussions and coded interactions for level of abstraction. Results Prompting boards were found to elicit both more, and more highly abstract speech (particularly inferencing) than shared reading, and children contributed more often to the conversation. Additionally, most speech on the lowest level of abstraction occurred during prompting boards (e.g., labelling and locating). Shared reading elicited more talk on intermediate levels (e.g., describing aspects of objects and characters and making comparisons to the child's life). Moreover, high‐SES parents and children produced more highly abstract speech and less labelling and locating compared with low‐SES dyads during both activities. Shared reading did not attenuate SES differences in abstract interactions. Conclusions Prompting boards seem promising for early intervention; however, future intervention studies are needed.

Socioeconomic inequalities in childhood Body Mass Index (BMI) are becoming increasingly more pronounced across the world. Although countries differ in the direction and strength of these inequalities, cross-national comparative research on this topic is rare. This paper draws on harmonized longitudinal cohort data from four wealthy countries-Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US)-to 1) map cross-country differences in the magnitude of socioeconomic inequalities in childhood BMI, and 2) to examine cross-country differences in the role of three energy-balance-related behaviors-physical activity, screen time, and breakfast consumption-in explaining these inequalities. Children were aged 5-7 at our first timepoint and were followed up at age 8-11. We used data from the German National Educational Panel Study, the Dutch Generation R study, the UK Millennium Cohort Study and the US Early Childhood Longitudinal-Kindergarten Study. All countries revealed significant inequalities in childhood BMI. The US stood out in having the largest inequalities. Overall, inequalities between children with low versus medium educated parents were smaller than those between children with high versus medium educated parents. The role of energy-balance-related behaviors in explaining inequalities in BMI was surprisingly consistent. Across countries, physical activity did not, while screen time and breakfast consumption did play a role. The only exception was that breakfast consumption did not play a role in the US. Cross-country differences emerged in the relative contribution of each behavior in explaining inequalities in BMI: Breakfast consumption was most important in the UK, screen time explained most in Germany and the US, and breakfast consumption and screen time were equally important in the Netherlands. Our findings suggest that what constitutes the most effective policy intervention differs across countries and that these should target both children from medium as well as low educated families.

To examine what kinds of parent–child interactions are elicited by different literacy-related activities, an exploratory study was conducted with 19 mother–child dyads. Although prompting boards are widely incorporated in pre- and primary school curricula, and in various family literacy programmes, scientific knowledge supporting their use is lacking. Within the context of the Dutch family literacy programme ‘Early Education at Home’ [Dutch Youth Institute. (2012). Early education at home. http://www.nji.nl/nl/Producten-en-diensten/Methodieken-en-instrumenten/VVE-Thuis-(3-6-jaar)], we compared levels of abstraction in parent–child interactions during prompting boards to an activity that has been researched extensively: shared reading. Our results show that children’s contributions to the interactions are significantly larger during prompting board activities than during shared reading. Utterances of a higher level of abstraction were generally more prevalent during shared reading. However, we also found that mother’s inference making utterances – the highest level of abstraction – were more characteristic of prompting board discussions. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

It is hypothesized that variability found in the effects of family literacy programs results from differences in implementation by parents. In this study, the implementation and effects of a Dutch program were examined in a sample of 207 kindergarteners (mean age at pre-test: 64 months). No main intervention effects on children’s literacy development were found. The quality of implementation proved to be higher for high-SES and native Dutch (speaking) parents than for low-SES, ethnic-minority parents with other home languages. Parent SES, ethnic-minority status, and home language did not moderate the program effects on child language scores and the program failed to impact targeted parental attributes, namely, the home literacy environment and parent self-efficacy. Finally, children’s development proved unrelated to implementation variables. Our results stress the importance of delivery for adequate implementation.