Children’s Block-Building Skills and Mother-Child Block-Building Interactions Across Four U.S. Ethnic Groups

Abstract

Play offers an unparalleled opportunity for young children to gain cognitive skills in informal settings. Block play in particular—including interactions with parents around block constructions—teaches children about intrinsic spatial features of objects (size, shape) and extrinsic spatial relations. In turn, early spatial cognition paves the way for later competencies in math and science. We assessed 4- and 5-year-old children’s spatial skill on a set of block-building constructions and examined mother-child block building interactions in 167 U.S. dyads from African American, Dominican, Mexican, and Chinese backgrounds. At both ages, children were instructed to copy several 3D block constructions, followed by a “break” during which mothers and children were left alone with the blocks. A form that contained pictures of test items was left on the table. Video-recordings of mother-child interactions during the break were coded for two types of building behaviors – test-specific construction (building structures on the test form) or free-form construction (building structures not on the test form). Chinese children outperformed Mexican, African American, and Dominican children on the block-building assessment. Further, Chinese and Mexican mother-child dyads spent more time building test-specific constructions than did African American and Dominican dyads. At an individual level, mothers’ time spent building test-specific constructions at the 4-year (but not 5-year) assessment, but not mothers’ initiation of block building interactions or verbal instructions, related to children’s performance, when controlling for ethnicity. Ethnic differences in children’s block-building performance and experiences emerge prior to formal schooling and provide a valuable window into sources of individual differences in early spatial cognition.

Early, concurrent, and consistent hand preferences predict stacking in toddlerhood

“…Moreover, since these data were collected, Suh et al. (2019) reported ethnic differences in 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children's block building skills during mother–child interactions. Increasing representation in studies of early stacking and examining stacking in ecological settings rather than only in the lab are goals for future work.…”

“…Future longitudinal studies must include visits during this period, particularly as it relates to hand preferences, object manipulation skills, and stacking strategy. Moreover, since these data were collected,Suh et al (2019) reported ethnic differences in 4-and 5-year-old children's block building skills during mother-child interactions. Increasing representation in studies of early stacking and examining stacking in ecological settings rather than only in the lab are goals for future work.…”

Fathers’ and mothers’ praise and spatial language during play with first graders: Patterns of interaction and relations to math achievement.

“…Though child ethnicity was included in our models, having to combine other ethnic minority groups magnified the demographic limitations of this sample. Given that prior studies have shown that parents of different ethnic group interacted differently with their children (e.g., Suh et al., 2019), these limitations further warrant more research to understand whether and how other family factors contribute to parental support that can lead to gains in children’s development…”

Family math engagement with young Latine children in the United States

“…In the first, which investigated numeracy behaviors (e.g., counting, performing operations) during a grocery shopping task, maternal math support was relatively infrequent across all groups, but Dominican and African‐American mothers provided the most math‐related support (Leyva et al., 2017). In the second, which examined spatial behaviors during block building, cross‐cultural variations occurred between the two Latine groups (Suh et al., 2019). Mexican‐heritage mothers spent more time in structured building (using models and more verbal instruction) than Dominican mothers, who engaged in more free building.…”