To determine the extent to which toddlers are aware of their friends' qualities, mothers of two groups of toddler preschoolers were interviewed about which of her child's classmates is talked about at home and what her child typically says about his or her peers. The children had been observed for several months prior to the interviews to identify reciprocal patterns of interaction. A total of 8 girls and 9 boys with a mean age of 35 months and their mothers participated in study 1. In study 2, children had a mean age of 28.5 months and six of the total of 16 were girls. Mothers' reports indicated that nearly all of the children in both studies talked regularly about their preschool peers. When, in study 1, sample verbalizations were rated and compared, children in reciprocal relationships were found to differ from those without reciprocal partners in the mode used to describe peers. This difference did not emerge in study 2. Mothers of children in the first study were able to correctly identify their children's preschool friends. Mothers in study 2 were not. Findings indicate that the study of toddler friendships can involve dimensions beyond the identification of interaction patterns, if approached in a way that takes into account the capabilities of children of that age. (RH)