The authors argue for the need of a cyclical, rather than a linear, model of family coping and life management when a child has a disability. Longitudinal support for such a cyclical model of family life management is presented, with recognition that parental control of outcome lessens as the young person ages, because the adult world is not…

Agnes Tellings rightly observes that adolescents, if compared with pre-pubescent children, are much more capable of making their own choices and therefore should be granted much more freedom to arrange their own lives. However, the capacity of adolescents to make prudent choices still seems to be below the threshold of competence. Therefore,…

What is man? How do people differ in terms of their biological and psychological characteristics? What determines their thoughts, desires, and actions? These eternal questions, which have confronted thinkers and scientists since antiquity, relate directly to problems of upbringing. Under current conditions, it is increasingly obvious that to…

Illustrates the important role that fathers play in their infants' social and emotional development. Notes that not only are infants more socially responsive when they are securely attached to both mother and father but such a secure attachment to the father can help to prevent harmful consequences of insecure attachments. (HTH)

Adults must understand the development of the child's concept of death to comprehend children's questions about death and answer them appropriately. Children under 5 years of age view death as reversible and not final and may believe that the dead can breathe, feel, talk and continue to grow. While young children may believe in the reversibility…

Reviewed in this address are research findings demonstrating that while some diversity in families is normal and functional, other forms of family diversity result from problems and are associated with human suffering. It is argued that both developmental and clinical studies have established the general rule that the father's positive presence in…

Director of the Fatherhood Project at the Families and Work Institute in New York City discusses his involvement in getting low-income fathers more involved in programs serving preschool children and how the Fatherhood Project was started. (HTH)

Describes changes in the perception and role of fatherhood during the last century. Maintains that official definitions and professional practice rarely confirm fathers' nurturing role, with debilitating results for fathers and families. Contends that legislation, official documents, and procedures should recognize changed expectations of family…

This paper examines the relationship between Australian women's participation in paid work in the public market and the child-rearing component of their unpaid, non-market work, and the role of public policy in regulating the relationship. The study presents a historical overview of the period between 1939 and 1950. Critical concepts and the ideas…

This paper comments on and suggests alternatives to assumptions concerning child-rearing currently held by many Australians. That family-child relationships change as societies and economies change is a fact not commonly taken for granted, but is a conclusion reached by scholars examining the history of childhood. Recently in Australia, as…

This paper traces the interface between preschool and elementary school as reflected by public funding during the first 200 years of American education. The paper also covers reasons for changes in entrance age and in funding and indicates the relevance of these changes for current issues in early childhood education. Sections address: (1) the…

Maintains that the past two decades have seen a remarkable growth in alternative education options, particularly home schooling. Asserts that the parents' religious and moral beliefs are primary reasons for the home schooling movement. Reviews research on home schooling and calls for more relevant lines of inquiry. (CFR)

The context of Japanese childrearing has changed during the postwar era. Noting that "new" observations concerning childrearing and socialization may not actually be new, this volume establishes continuity with past researchers by integrating the past half-century of cross-cultural research on Japanese childrearing and socialization,…