A mother of an adolescent daughter with blindness and learning disabilities focuses on how she helped her daughter improve reading and writing skills by finding a meaningful purpose for those skills in daily life. This article discusses early signs of learning problems, the learning environment, talking books, books in braille, technology,…

Presents information about gay and lesbian parenting and its effects on the child, and suggests how educators can address the needs of lesbian and gay parents and their children. (BB)

Describes a program developed to help parents become effective playmates. Suggests that interactive play between infants and adults has numerous benefits, although these benefits will not occur automatically; they require parents to develop the appropriate skills. Proposes methods to facilitate play and make an important contribution to the…

This essay examines the development of individual differences in emotion regulation and the role that specific styles of emotion regulation and dysregulation play in affecting young children's interactive behavior with peers. It advances a general developmental pathway that conceptualizes individual variations in terms of both infant traits and…

Judy Gobert (Blackfeet/Salish) struggled with racism and sexual abuse in childhood and with substance abuse and family violence in adulthood. Traditional spirituality, belief in education, and support groups have helped her to heal herself and create a better life for her children and herself. Describes her doctoral research on drug-resistant…

Reviews and analyzes the politicization of investigations of child abuse, emphasizing the issues of veracity and substantiation of child abuse reports. Scrutinizes recent major litigation illustrating the loss of professional objectivity. Political and ideological agendas are undermining the credibility of the mental health and social work…

Discusses difficulties parents encounter when they play with their disabled child and the inappropriateness of some commercial toys for disabled children. Also describes the development of adapted toys and of toy lending libraries for young disabled children. (BB)

Alfred Manitopeyes, respected Salteaux elder, discusses the value of both traditional and white education and uses the metaphor of good talking and good walking to indicate the ethical responsibilities of teachers. His text is presented in English and Salteaux, with explanations of his discourse style and meaning. (SV)

Author Joseph Chilton discusses parents' roles in child rearing, the importance of nurturing, and how negative and positive childhood experiences affect one's emotional and physical health throughout life. Describes neurocardiology, which is documenting the biological connections between the brain and heart and lifting the wisdom and intelligence…

Children are unique. They need different things at different times. Parents and educators should listen thoughtfully to children to determine how best to support them. Describes how a New Hampshire Quaker boarding school implements a thoughtful mix of direction and freedom based on participatory decision making and listening. "Clearness…

Details cultural changes in 20th-century Scandinavia. Considers arguments related to beliefs about children's lives; stereotypes of children as fragile were used to attack the modern family; day care as threatening healthy child development; and the conception of the malfunctioning child in adversarial parent-child relationships. Concludes that…

Written by the mother of a child with autism, this article discusses the journey from a diagnosis of autism at age 3 through the many therapies to upper grade school, where the child is doing so well that they have considered dropping the diagnosis. The miracles and hard work are discussed. (CR)

Focuses on factors influencing the mastery of a foreign language and one's native tongue. Both the child-mother relationship and the teacher-student relationship greatly influence the desire and propensity of an individual to acquire fluency in the language being taught. To learn to speak signifies a wish to use a language and become immersed in…

Discusses how social trends changed father involvement and family life, and in turn affected children's and fathers' developmental trajectories. Examines how today's children will construct expectations about fathers' and mothers' roles. Maintains that a life-span approach considers the broader sociohistorical context in which fatherhood develops.…

In this article, the author describes the two types of street children: (1) those children whose vagrancy was forced upon them by families and circumstances; and (2) those children who have an urge to go wandering, not because they are unhappy and have been abused but because they have an urge for it. Even though these children do run away from…