A replicable, low-burden mechanism for observing, recording, and analysing mother-child interaction in population research.

The study provides evidence that numerous parent-child interactions can be rigourously yet efficiently coded without substantial information loss. The observational mechanism in the current study has been fully developed and is shown to be feasible for research purposes focusing on parent-toddler interactions. However, further testing of the observational mechanism is required to examine whether the same results could be produced if coding was conducted "live" and for shorter duration thereby making it readily useable for clinicians.