School of Communication Science and Disorders (SCSD) Associate Professor Mollie Romano, master’s student Fran Baehman, and doctoral candidate Diana Abarca published their study, “A Low-Cost, Social Media–Supported Intervention for Caregivers to Enhance Toddlers’ Language Learning: Mixed Methods Feasibility and Acceptability Study,” in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Publications on June 23, 2025.

“I was excited to be a part of the BabyTok research team because I have extensive experience in early childhood development and loved the idea of studying how caregivers use social media to learn more about how their babies communicate and how they and their babies may benefit from the information,” Baehman said.

Upon the study’s completion, Romano credited both student collaborators as being key to the study’s success. “It is such a pleasure to work with both Diana and Fran. They are both incredible collaborators, and I am so grateful to work with them both,” said Romano.

JMIR Publications supports scientists in disseminating their research to a broad audience, including fellow researchers, patients, consumers, and others in their respective fields. Baehman hopes that the audience understands that quality information delivered via concise social media content can empower caregivers to try some new strategies that may improve their children’s language and communication skills.

“Social media, with its good and bad aspects, seems to be a good fit for educating all types of caregivers because it is free and easy to access, and most people are already using it,” Baehman said.

Baehman also expressed the significance of discovering that most caregivers in their study took away many adolescent communication strategies from the videos they were shown and felt empowered when they worked successfully with their child. “This is what the research is all about, getting quality information to caregivers and empowering parents to help their children with language and communication,” Baehman said.

Romano added that this study is the second in their research sequence that began with using social media to reach infant-toddler teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Romano, Baehman, Abarca, and School of Communication Assistant Professors, Katherine Dale and Arienne Ferchaud, have also been working on a third social-media-based study with infant caregivers using Instagram, funded by an FSU CRC Seed Grant. Looking forward, the team hopes to further their research in a larger clinical trial to investigate potential long-term caregiver and child effects.