ABSTRACT
The objective of this study is to find the difference in mother–child interaction between a play situation with electronic toys and a play situation with non-electronic toys. There are four domains of the mother–child interaction as measured by PICCOLO (Parenting Interaction with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes): Affection, maternal responsiveness, encouragement and teaching. Sixty-one pairs of mothers and their preschool-aged children participated in this quasi-experimental study. They were observed while playing with two kinds of toys at different times. The results showed that the mother–child interaction when the mother and child were playing with electronic toys is significantly lower than when they were playing with non-electronic toys. It is shown on all four dimensions of mother–child interaction: affection, maternal responsiveness, encouragement and teaching.
