Linking early maternal input during shared reading to later theory of mind through receptive language and executive function: A within- and between-family design

•Maternal early shared reading interactions indirectly related to later ToM at the family-level.•Indirect effects were sequentially through receptive language and then EF at the family-level.•Multilevel models accounted for family-wide confounds and isolated child-specific processes.•Findings emphasize the benefits of early maternal input in later language, EF and ToM abilities.