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Psychological-Educational Studies
2025. Vol. 17, no. 4, 82–96
doi:10.17759/psyedu.2025170405
ISSN: 2587-6139 (online)

The features of early childhood speech during play with electronic toys: case study

 
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Abstract

Context and relevance. In the context of rapid digitalization, children are increasingly exposed to electronic toys alongside traditional toys. The focus of this study is on comparing the speech of children during play with electronic toys, dolls, building blocks, and board theater. Objective. The aim is to identify the specifics of play and the speech characteristics of early childhood children when interacting with electronic toys. Hypothesis. Children's speech in play episodes with electronic toys has its own characteristics. Methods and materials. The study involved three mother-child dyads (M = 26,3 months; SD = 1,89; 100% girls). Video recordings of children's play episodes with the electronic puppy, the doll, the construction set, and the board theater were analyzed (a total of 18 episodes with a total duration of 248 minutes and 46 seconds). Results. As a result of analysis, it was found that during play with the electronic toy, children generally spoke fewer words than when playing with other types of toys. They used more interjections and exclamatory sentences, indicating higher emotionality. Children demonstrated different interaction strategies with the electronic toy. One girl showed aggression towards the electronic puppy, another was cautious around it, and both girls did not want to play with the toy independently, requiring their mothers' assistance. The third girl played with the electronic puppy as if it were a plush toy. This is related to difficulties in attributing the toy to the category of living or non-living beings. Conclusions. It has been shown that the nature of play interaction with an electronic toy in early childhood is individual; children's speech during interaction with an electronic toy is less rich but more emotional than during play with other toys. Further research on this topic could involve increasing the sample size and including preschool-aged children.

General Information

Keywords: early age, electronic toy, children's speech, toys, doll, board theater, building blocks, morphological characteristics of children's speech, syntactic characteristics of children's speech, play of early childhood, case study

Journal rubric: Developmental Psychology

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/psyedu.2025170405

Received 25.06.2025

Revised 27.11.2025

Accepted

Published

For citation: Salomatova, O.V. (2025). The features of early childhood speech during play with electronic toys: case study. Psychological-Educational Studies, 17(4), 82–96. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/psyedu.2025170405

© Salomatova O.V., 2025

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

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Information About the Authors

Olga V. Salomatova, junior research fellow of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research of Contemporary Childhood, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1723-9697, e-mail: salomatovaov@mgppu.ru

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Written informed consent to participate in this study was provided by participants.

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