Print exposure in early childhood is related to linguistic skills such as oral language, reading comprehension and spelling during school years. A common way of exposing preschool children to print is during joint storytelling. Research has shown that total fixation time on print during storytelling is between 2% and 6% of the total fixation time on the book and is a function of the child’s age. What has yet to be determined, however, are differences, if any, in child fixation time on print during parent vs. experimenter joint storytelling. Here, we examined the effect of parent vs. experimenter storytelling–reading on fixation time on print among 4–6-year-old preschoolers. Specifically, we used an eye-tracking device to compare the fixation time percentage on print while the parent vs. an experimenter were reading a story to the child. Preschoolers fixated more on print when their parent was reading a story to them vs. the experimenter. Positive correlations between fixation time on print and linguistic skills and processing speed were found. Results suggest that joint storytelling with a parent promotes print awareness, an important factor in developing literacy and reading skills, and thus further emphasizes the importance of parent–child joint storytelling.

幼儿期的印刷品暴露与语言能力有关，例如口语，阅读理解和学年拼写。让学龄前儿童打印的常见方式是在联合讲故事中。研究表明，讲故事时印刷的总注视时间占书上总注视时间的2％至6％，并且是孩子年龄的函数。但是，尚待确定的是，在父母与实验者共同讲故事的过程中，印刷中的儿童注视时间是否存在差异。在这里，我们研究了父母对实验者讲故事的影响–阅读对4至6岁学龄前儿童的印刷时间的影响。具体来说，当父母与实验者向孩子朗读故事时，我们使用眼动仪比较了印刷时的注视时间百分比。学龄前儿童在父母向他们的故事向实验者讲故事时，更多地关注印刷品。发现印刷品上的固定时间与语言技能和处理速度之间呈正相关。结果表明，与父母共同讲故事可以提高印刷意识，这是发展识字和阅读技能的重要因素，因此进一步强调了父母与子女共同讲故事的重要性。