A Canadian parent of a mentally retarded daughter talks of the support provided her and the community achievements of local parent committees. (DB)

Describes the role parents can play in helping with the expenses involved in running a school newspaper. Lists dos and don'ts for developing a Booster Club. (MS)

Study of 250 college women reveals that although they have been rethinking their career options and expanding their career choices into areas that have been traditionally male dominated, there is little indication of a reciprocal change in thinking about the primacy of mothering. (Author/BJV)

Outlines 26 activities to help parents develop informal learning experiences which foster an interest in reading, including bookmaking, grocery shopping, read aloud sessions, and zoo trips. (MM)

Increasingly, unwed black fathers are taking responsibility for their children's care while fulfilling their roles as college students. Localities and institutions are offering more programs of day care and referral to school and social services to provide support to these fathers. (MSE)

Examines the changing structure of the American family and how that affects fathers, discusses good fathering in today's society, notes the views of the National Fatherhood Initiative, and discusses briefly various groups and their efforts to improve and unite fathers. An insert, "Dads in Action," by Joan Kuerste describes actions of an…

Discusses how parents can reduce the risks of inappropriate Internet use and ensure positive online experiences for their children. Gives guidelines for family rules and personal rules that each young user should know and understand. (ET)

Examined association between parent role quality and psychological distress in 180 full-time employed dual-earner couples. Results indicated that parent role quality was significantly negatively associated with psychological distress for men as well as for women and that the magnitude of the effect depended little, if at all, on gender. (Author/NB)

Argues that it is neither possible nor beneficial for individuals to be perfect parents, maintaining that in most circumstances the errors parents make are more than compensated for by the many good decisions they make in regard to child rearing. Children learn best through the example their parents set for them. (MDM)

Describes a parent reading-writing class in which parents from diverse cultures came together to write, read, and revise something special they would be writing to their children. Notes that the experience continues its effect as families explore new avenues for writing among family members. (SR)

Teasing involves unexpected, novel, ambiguous, and destabilizing parental behaviors toward children. Teasing is displayed more often by fathers than mothers. Teasing may have a positive impact on cognitive and social development, because teasing introduces novelty and ambiguity, as well as negotiation of a struggle. (TM)

Drawing on personal stories from 20 families, this paper explores what it means to be a parent with learning difficulties and looks at the joys and heartaches that parenting brings. The downside of parenthood includes having children taken away, constant surveillance, and inadequate supports; rewards include loving relationships, opportunities for…

Finds that approximately 40% of the variance in adult sons' reports of fathers' messages (sarcasm, criticism, and verbal aggressiveness) was attributable to fathers' self-reported argumentativeness and verbal aggression. (SR)

Interviewed Alice Honig on: sex role socialization research findings over the last few decades, the role of women in society and as mothers, sexuality, and the need for respect and support for the mothering function. (DR)

Examines seven children's books to discuss the noticeable increase in the number of children's books in the 1980s involving abandonment of children by parents, often the mother. (SR)