Exploring children’s causal language production: The role of mothers and fathers across different tasks in dyadic interactions

Causal language is essential for children's language development, helping them understand and explain the reasons behind events. This study focuses on children's causal language production and the role of parental input, aiming to (1) investigate differences in maternal and paternal language use, (2) analyse children's causal language production across tasks and communication partners, and (3) examine the relationship between parental input and children's causal language skills. Sixty children aged 4-5 and their parents participated in dyadic sessions, which included free play, guided play, and storytelling tasks. Results showed that fathers used more causal language than mothers during free play, and children also produced more causal language with their fathers in this context compared to storytelling. Overall, both maternal and paternal causal language inputs were linked to children's causal language production, highlighting the significant influence of parental input on language development.