Discusses ways parents can help children create a lifestyle that supports physical fitness, focusing on motivation for children and parents. Defines the components of fitness: cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility. Presents information on developing adult and child fitness programs, including a workout…

Presents the findings from two studies that demonstrate that parents' interactions, ego functioning, and moral reasoning are predictive of children's moral development. Illustrates the role of affective factors in moral socialization and the relevance of using real-life moral dilemmas in contrast to hypothetical ones. (CMK)

Examined mechanisms by which family processes contribute to 10- to 13-year-old boys' bullying. Found that modeling variables of marital satisfaction, inappropriate discipline and social support make the strongest contribution to boys' bullying, with some conditioning variables (maternal anger and depression, parent-child involvement) being…

Tested a structural model of the network of sociocognitive influences shaping children's career aspirations and trajectories among 272 early adolescents. Found that subjects' perceived efficacy rather than their actual academic achievement was the key determinant of their perceived occupational self-efficacy and preferred choice of worklife.…

Explores the relationships between the patterns of participation in lifelong learning of parents and children within families. Based on a large-scale study of lifetime participation in industrial South Wales. Suggests that individual participation trajectories remain similar within families and illustrates the varied manifestations of family…

Investigated the influence of parental attachment on the initiation of adolescent cigarette smoking. The two models tested each specify different causal ordering among the three variables of attachment to parents, commitment to conventional activities, and belief in the conventional rules of society. Findings indicated that parental attachment has…

Determinants of young children's mathematics skills (home environment, socioeconomic status, and maternal cognitive test scores) were statistically analyzed. Analysis of data from subsamples of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth indicated that all three factors, but particularly home environment, had significant effects on young childrens'…

Examines how parental cultural capital contributes to children's educational attainment in the Netherlands, emphasizing participation in beaux arts and reading behavior. Explores the claims of cultural reproduction theory and cultural mobility theory on the interaction of parents' educational background and their cultural capital. Discusses the…

Provides background information on the Nahshon School, a small Reform Jewish day school. Describes the ways in which the Nahshon School implements a vision of caring. Considers school philosophy, curriculum, and rituals, teachers as role models, and how the school evaluates its progress. Addresses obstacles facing the school. (CMK)

Examined data from NICHD study to determine relationship of children's child care experience to peer competence at 24 and 36 months, after controlling for effects of family and child characteristics. Found consistent, modest relations between early child-care experiences and peer competencies. Maternal sensitivity and children's cognitive and…

Explored the relationship between parenting style and academic achievement of Korean American adolescents, investigating the influence of perceived parental warmth and control and improvement in schooling. Survey data indicated that authoritative paternal parenting related to optimal academic achievement. Differences in maternal parenting styles…

This study acknowledged that parents maintain social networks that may affect the role they play in their children's education. Survey responses of 195 mothers indicated that size of social network predicted degree of involvement and that type of network predicted type of involvement. Findings suggest that parents' social networks can function as…

Longitudinal data from 1,425 U.S. and 1,755 German students in grades 7-10 revealed that the influence of family background is more pronounced on early-schooling decisions. In both countries, achievement was the best predictor of career decisions. The cumulative process of social background influences is stronger in Germany. (Contains 49…

Surveys of 110 inner-city Hispanic adolescent girls referred for psychiatric assessment and their mothers found that the quality of mother/daughter communication in general was more useful in predicting onset of sexual experiences than aspects of later sexual experiences. However, specific communication about sexuality was not related to…

Investigates the extent to which parents' well-being and parenting styles provide a basis of the development of their children's cognitive and behavioral strategies in primary school. Reveals that maternal depressive symptomatology was associated with their children's use of maladaptive strategies, whereas maternal authoritative parenting styles…