In an extension of maternal question-asking to Japanese children during free play and at meal time each of 20 mother-child dyads was videotaped at home. The mothers of children with Down syndrome asked more questions during free play, at meal time, and for the sum of these two. Also, they produced more requests for information during free play and for combined conditions and fewer clarification requests during free play. The results were compared to those of the previous study of Taiwanese mothers.