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The aim of this study was to find out which differences appear in the structure and priorities of values of late preschool and early elementary school children. A total of 243 late preschool (M = 5.98) and early elementary school (M = 7.87) children from Estonia completed the Picture Based Value Survey for Children (Doring et al., 2010). The four higher-order values identified by Schwartz (1992) were evident in both age group's value structure. Nevertheless, there were some deviations from the theoretical model in preschool children. The results suggest that school children differentiate better between some of the values within the four higher-order values. Children seem to distinguish self-oriented values earlier than other-oriented values. Both preschool and school children prioritized self-transcendence values. Among preschool children, self-enhancement ranked second and was more important than among school children. Openness to change was of higher importance to school children. The study highlights some of the key changes in values during early childhood.

The study examined associations between Estonian children's language performance and their mothers' self-reported language teaching practices, and factors related to the frequency of using these language teaching practices. Mothers reported their language teaching practices, child-rearing value orientation, and their children's expressive vocabulary at 36 months (N = 88; Mage = 35.85) via the ECDI-II. Language comprehension and production were directly assessed using the New Reynell Developmental Language Scales (NRDLS). Girls outperformed boys on language production. Children of mothers with university education scored higher than others on all language measures. Mothers with stronger autonomy orientation and fewer children reported more frequent use of informal language stimulation and corrective feedback. Self-reported informal language stimulation was positively related to children's expressive vocabulary and language comprehension, whereas corrective feedback was negatively linked to children's language comprehension and production. This study highlights the importance of engaging language-learning children into conversations rather than explicitly correcting their speech.