In commenting on the nature of freedom, it is argued that the positive aspect of freedom involves the preparation of the child, through inculcation of knowledge and skills, so that he may exercise meaningful choices and be aware of various possibilities. (Editor)

An illustrator and author reflects on growing up in Nazi Germany. (AEA)

Fifty-five children and their mothers were studied longitudinally from 18 to 42 months to determine the effects of home literacy practices, children's interest in reading, and mothers' metalingual utterances during reading on children's expressive and receptive language development, letter knowledge, and knowledge of print concepts. At 27 months,…

Evaluated whether parents can affect their children's interest in shared reading. Found that after 1 week, children in the interest intervention group were more interested in shared reading than children in the attention-control group. After 4 weeks, intervention parents still reported increased child interest, although direct observations…

The pattern of correlates in this study suggests differential contributions of mothers and fathers to the interests of their children. Parent-child similarities were found to be influenced both by the particular Holland interest style being examined as well as by the child's sex. Revision and extension of Holland's model is suggested. (GO)

Discusses ways to deal with children's desires for consumer goods advertised on television and pushed by peer groups. Considers needs, wants, and wishes of children, and how each can influence purchase decisions. (SB)

To determine if parents misunderstand their offspring, study analyzed 84 children and their mothers using What I Like To Do interest inventory (Bonsall, Meyers, and Thorpe, 1954). Results support previous findings except for maternal overestimation of music interests, underestimation manual interests. Suggests future study where conflict exists to…

A study was conducted to determine (1) how often television was used as a surrogate parent, (2) the reasons leading to its use as such, and (3) the correlates of using television as a babysitter. Telephone interviews were conducted with 226 mothers who had children between the ages of 2 and 12. The respondents answered questions that addressed…

American culture appears to be the enemy of childhood. Children now look, dress, talk, and behave like adults. At the same time, adults have become more like children. (Author/JM)

A study was conducted to determine the influence on parents of televised warnings about content unsuitable for children and to determine parents' attitudes toward such warnings. Researchers conducted interviews in 422 homes and distributed questionnaires with Likert-type and frequency scale items. While parents recognized and observed the…

This manual was designed to provide instructors in adult basic education with lesson plans which treat the subject of parent education and family life. The lesson plans, factsheets, and worksheets in the manual deal specifically with the subject of child development from 6 to 12 years. The lessons encompass a range of topics including childhood…

Notes that F.H. Anstey's children's novel "Vice Versa" is unusual for its day (1882) because it attacks Victorian fathers and insensitive boarding school teachers, and points out how cruel children can be to one another when maintaining their own power structures. (JC)

Bookstore owner advocates freedom for children in exploring and choosing books. Regrets tendencies of some adults to curb children's curiosity and self-displayed interests, while complaining of the child's lack of interest in reading. (SD)

Assesses the television-viewing behavior of American, Japanese, and British children and examines several determinants of product-requesting behavior and parent-child conflict. (MM)

This student guide for a program concerned with how young children acquire social skills defines social skills and describes some ways that parents can build upon their child's desire to get along with people and learn these skills. Designed around a magazine format to allow maximum flexibility to different groups using the materials, the guide is…