Abstract: In the present study,home visit by videotape including free play session and copy-model session was carried out when these children were four years old.The characteristics and types of parent-child interaction in the two sessions and their relationships with the development of behavioral inhibit ion from two years old to seven years old were explored.The findings are follows:(1) In free play session and copy-model session at home,the behavioral frequency of mother is more than that of father,which indicated that mother is the major interactive person of children.In the two play sessions at home,Chinese children displayed more compliant behaviors.(2) There is significant differences in the father cs behaviors,mothercs behaviors and childrencs behaviors between in the free play session and in the copy-model session.Mothers significantly displayed less high-power,low-power,communication and non-communication in the copy-model session than those in the free play session.For fathers,except non-communication,the other behaviors in the free play session are significantly more than those in the copy-model session.The childrenc's behaviors including compliance,noncompliance,communication and non-communication in the copy-model session are significantly less in the copy-model session than those in the free play session.(3) In free play session,parent-child interaction is classified as four types:Parent communicat ion-child non-communication,mother high-power) child compliance,father control-child noncompliance,and mother non-communication-child communicat ion.In copy-model session,parent-child interact ion is classified as four types:parent permission-child independence,parent control-child compliance,mother-child communication and father control-child compliance.

Key words: Home videotape observation, free play, intelligence-task-oriented play, parent-child interaction