Responds to arguments presented by Judith Harris's book "The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do" (1998). Maintains that her work should come as a relief to parents, as it encourages a constructive focus on ways parents can influence their children. Contends that Harris's ideas reflect a model in which parents' role matures…

The construct of psychological control, important in research on parenting and adolescent development, is much in need of clarification.

For seven years, the author has been the parent of a wonderfully uniquely gifted little boy, who has taught her all about "exceptional" parenting. Her child, Adrian, is a "twice-exceptional" child who is both intellectually gifted and has special needs that negatively impact his development and learning. Initially, the contradictions of parenting…

Creativity research has traditionally regarded the creative process as involving a full or partial regression of the ego to a more primitive state of consciousness. An alternative interpretation involves an ego-syntonic concept. This developmental model of ego-syntonic play and its role in creativity is derived from a synergistic combination of…

The author considers the relationship between uncontrollable infant crying and child abuse. An integrative scheme is offered from evidence of child abuse literature, experimentally induced infant crying effects, attribution theory, and learned helplessness. It is suggested that infant crying often has causes beyond caregiver control, such as birth…

Recent literature presents parenthood as a crisis and/or growth experience. This paper refocuses this issue from an orientation toward outcome to one on process. It examines transitions into fatherhood in terms of six tasks which must be completed or mastered if this process is to be gratifying and rewarding. (Author)

Responds to Fogel's (1988) concerns about the validity and preferred uses of scaled monadic phases and introduces a note of caution about prematurely concluding that stochastic organization alone is of significance to development. (RH)

Asserts that sole custody has not met the needs of the divorced family. Discusses the benefits of joint custody as an alternative that more realistically defines the postdivorce relationship between the child and both parents. The linkage between joint custody and divorce mediation is also discussed. (Author)

Maintains that grief and other emotional behaviors and feelings associated with the death of a child can be most effectively managed when they are acknowledged and shared. (BB)

A mother and her 15-year-old daughter respond to observations of Donald W. Mackinnon regarding creative families ("In Search of Human Effectiveness: Identifying and Developing Creativity," 1978). Aspects addressed include parent expectations, psychological distance between parent and child, and parent' avoidance of pressuring the child to perform.…

Discusses implications of a study of middle-class infants seen in the Ainsworth strange situation at 12.5 and 19.5 months; the investigation produced results inconsistent with the corpus of previous findings. (Author/RH)

The author, the mother of a cerebral palsied child, considers the conflicts which arise for parents in using respite care. Noted among the reasons why respite care use is difficult for parents are feelings of guilt, conflicts in mothering, self-punishment for having a handicapped child, identification with the child, and separation from the child.…

The physically disabled author describes the consequences of her mother's sense of guilt for her injury. As a result of her mother's insistence, the author underwent a leg operation which left her less well both physically and emotionally and created tremendous conflict between mother and daughter. (PHR)

Personalized account of the interactions among a retired teacher of reading, her daughter, and grandson, in regard to the grandson's reading development. (SS)

Relates Bowlby's original conceptualization of attachment to recently developed theories subsumed under the label of sociobiology. (MP)