This paper describes the results of a longitudinal study which compared the effects of three types of home-based, parent-oriented, infant education curricula. One curriculum stressed language, another stressed play, and a third stressed social development. Mothers and children from 108 middle and working class families received home visits beginning when the children were 12 months old and ending when they were 30 months of age. Four assessments of mothers and children were made at 12, 15, 24, and 30 months and involved audio tapes of mother and child language, children's language comprehension, observations of mother-child interaction in the home and in the laboratory, observations of children's play with toys, probes of stranger reactions, assessments of maternal play styles, and standardized tests such as the Bayley mental scales. Extensive data on demographic and family life variables were also collected. Three types of analyses were performed: (1) comparison of treatment effects on children's behavior, (2) cross-lagged correlation of maternal behavioral patterns and subsequent child behaviors, and (3) analysis of the effects of family organization and structures on curriculum success or failure. Implications of the findings for parent involvement in education efforts are discussed briefly. (JMB)