I watch my eighteen-month old daughter talking to the soft-bodied doll that I have made her. I wonder what she sees in the undefined cloth face. I wonder if she will make a similar doll for her child one day and I wonder if she will wonder as I do. While the repetition across generations of early childhood experience is both common sense and much…

This article presents an interview with Shonda Schilling, wife of retired professional baseball pitcher Curt Schilling. In addition to her role as mom, advocate, and author, Schilling is also a melanoma survivor and the Founder of Shade (http://www.shadefoundation.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating melanoma through the…

Using the work of Judith Butler on gender regulation, Black Feminist Thought (BFT), and autobiographic storytelling, this piece illustrates how essentialist notions of gender, and discourses related to gender create conflict in shaping identity construction for a Black woman academic and single mother (BWA/SM) in the United States. This piece…

The author grew up as an Illinois farm girl, born in 1922. Both her mother and her grandmother had been teachers trained in Froebelian progressive education methods, and both knew the value of building on children's interests. At about age 9, she became interested in butterflies and made her own museum, including rocks, butterflies, and insects…

Becoming the parent of a child diagnosed with learning disabilities can have a dramatic impact. Chrissie Rogers, the author of this article, is both a lecturer in education studies at Keele University and the mother of a daughter who has learning disabilities. She argues here that the pressures on mothers to produce "perfect" babies and to meet…

Elaborating on two main styles of multiple caretaking, this paper discusses those aspects of the mother-nanny relationship which influence the optimal care of the child. A caretaking style based in denial involves obliterating, denying, and distracting the child from his painful emotional experiences, fostering "the stiff upper lip," and…

Summarizes theories and research pertaining to the mother-daughter relationship, emphasizing works that focus on theory development or that utilize mother-daughter samples. Concludes with a brief discussion of the extent to which research supports contemporary mother-daughter theories. (TE)

Comments on the article by David, Dytrych, and Matejcek (see record 2003-03645-009) which showed the long-term negative psychological effects of unwantedness, up to 35 years after birth. The author states that despite their contention, this is not the only such long-term study. The authors briefly discuss other longitudinal studies of children…

A mother and father (both deaf themselves) of one deaf and one hard of hearing child share their parenting experiences, with emphasis on effective strategies for family sharing and bonding. The father begins by sharing his experiences growing up as a deaf child of deaf parents. The mother then recounts her childhood experiences as a deaf child of…

Discusses the educative role of the family in pre-industrial England focusing specifically the role of the mother. Provides quotes from diaries and other contemporary sources of information to document the points being made. (GEA)

The traditional family atmosphere provides the best setting for the nurturing of children and the building of their character. (Author/AOS)

During the years 1986-1988, a Swedish research project called "Sons" tried to provide some tentative answers to questions raised by the recent focus on gender issues in peace education. A total of 20 feminist and 20 traditional mothers of sons were interviewed concerning their ideas about the development of their sons and about the difficulties…

Examined the phenomenon of natural learning of literacy among 50 preschoolers. Talking with mothers about their perceptions of their preschoolers' literacy development revealed how sensitive they are and how perceptive in their observation of what their children are doing. Suggests that child's literacy development is deeply affected by attitudes…

Discusses the interactive effect of social networks and support systems on parent-child relationships and early childhood development. Suggests that greater attention to family ecology is needed, and raises a number of questions regarding the delivery of comprehensive health services for children and their families. (CJM)

Joseph Chilton Pearce, a writer who lectures internationally on child development, discusses the importance of the birth environment on infant development, the negative effects resulting from doctor-assisted births, his experiences in the births of his children, the importance of bonding, and the relationship between childbirth and childhood…