Caregiver Involvement in Infant Peer Interactions: Scaffolding in a Social Context

Infants learn a great deal about social skills and interactions from their caregivers, and it is important to identify techniques caregivers can use to promote positive outcomes. The relationship between daycare caregivers’ scaffolding techniques (e.g., offering suggestions, giving gentle feedback, altering the environment) at baseline and infant sociability at follow-up were examined. Results suggest child-centered scaffolding is more beneficial for infant sociability than adult-centered or group scaffolding.