The symposium papers collected in this volume present a variety of perspectives on parenthood in our changing society. In the first article the effects of the women's movement on parenting are indicated. Next, different role-dimensions of mothering and teaching are clarified and discussed. The third article reports on research aiming to document, identify and examine in detail the intricacies and uniqueness of black family life, child socialization and child development. Article four discusses the maturational characteristics of teenagers, parents' needs, and issues for parents raising teenagers. The involvement of the federal government (in terms of current projects on family policies and the proposed Child Care Act of 1979) are discussed and described in the fifth article. The final article discusses forces competing for parents' attention and comments on conflicting reports and advice from "experts" in childrearing. A selected bibliography on parenthood and families is appended. (Author/RH)