According to a study by Betty Hart and Todd Risley, what distinguished middle-class parents from welfare parents in their interactions with young children?

The study by Betty Hart and Todd Risley highlights significant differences in the language interactions and verbal engagement of middle-class parents compared to welfare parents. One of the striking findings of their research was that welfare parents tended to talk less to their children than their middle-class counterparts.

This finding is important because it underscores the correlation between the quantity of verbal interaction and language development in early childhood. Children who are engaged in more frequent and diverse conversations with adults tend to have larger vocabularies and better language skills as they grow. The lack of verbal engagement from welfare parents can have implications for the cognitive development of their children, particularly in the area of language acquisition.

Thus, the answer reflects the importance of the amount of verbal interaction in nurturing a child's linguistic abilities and highlights the disparities in parenting practices that can impact child development outcomes.