Testing for word comprehension in six-month-olds and nine-month-olds using mealtime words

Routine caregiving activities provide frames for infant development. Mealtimes are one set of routine activities that undergo marked changes during the transitional time for early developing word comprehension. We tested if six- and nine-month-olds show comprehension of words for mealtime objects and actions (cup, spoon, eat, drink) using a preferential looking procedure. We also collected parent report measures of infant communication development (MacArthur-Bates CDI) and a parent self-report of word use. The preferential looking results failed to show comprehension; instead six-month-olds showed a strong preference for the drinking from a cup video, but the nine-month-olds did not. Results from the parent questionnaires are consistent with the post hoc interpretation that the drinking from a cup video presented a more novel event for the six-month-olds compared to the nine-month-olds. This study highlights the importance of parent-infant routines as shared, developing experiences that contribute to word comprehension development.