In one of the parent–child interactions captured on videotape, Beth's children were role playing a routine visit to the doctor. The children and parents were alternating among roles and this offered them opportunities to develop their language skills around this particular routine. Likewise, role playing a school routine could be encouraged to help children develop knowledge of the expectations at school such as cooperative behaviour, ability to follow routines, development of independence and learning about the teacher's and students' roles. Academic goals such as providing opportunities to reinforce numeracy and literacy concepts could also emerge from the play routine, particularly if the parents provide selected props for children to use during their role play to enrich the experience.

Positive Attitudes

The literature has suggested that aspects of literacy such as print awareness, knowledge of narrative structure, and vocabulary and discourse patterns are likely to be influenced by the family and home environments (Snow and Tabors, 1996; D. Taylor, 1983; D. Taylor and Dorsey–Gaines, 1988). Further, the family may influence how literacy is viewed. For parents who use literacy as a source of enjoyment, they establish positive affect around literacy and this attitude is passed on to their children. A central finding was that those parents who feel that their children are interested in reading are more likely to provide their children with print–rich opportunities compared to those who do not perceive such an interest in their children.

D. Taylor and Dorsey–Gaines (1988) documented in families living in poverty the patterns within the family structure that promote literacy. The most consistent finding was that students that were most successful in language and literacy came from homes where families made literacy a priority and had positive attitudes and behaviors. During the parent interviews the researchers often noticed that the parents were simultaneously helping their children with homework or offering scaffolding to a child that was reading. By contrast, the low–income parents in the present study frequently stated that they had difficulties helping their children with their homework and very often were not sure what was expected.