Examined change in women's self-evaluations in maternal role from before to after birth of a couple's first child. Found that a few weeks after delivery, women's average self-ratings dropped from levels during pregnancy, rebounded by one year postpartum. Examined differences between working- and middle-class women. (Author/NB)

Surveyed employed divorced mothers (N=381) on sources of support available to them in managing family responsibilities, with emphasis on managing conflicts between employment and child care responsibilities. A particular focus was the noncustodial parent's contribution. Although the divorced mothers perceived they had sources of help available,…

The context in which directives were given in parent-child interactions was studied for two years in six families with Down syndrome children and four families with nonretarded children, beginning at age 12 months. Differences found when children were matched on chronological age essentially disappeared when mental age was considered. (Author/JW)

Surrogate motherhood is a path to parenthood filled with legal "potholes" and psychological "rocks." Mental health specialists, especially marital and family therapists, may well be called upon to provide their professional services to people attempting to negotiate it. Introduces a number of potential hazards, presenting the…

Mothers' roles in structuring interactions with their infants during free play was examined when infants were 6- and 9-months-old. Maternal scaffolding of turn-taking exchanges was then contrasted to the forms of turn-taking apparent in sibling-infant and peer-infant observations. Subjects were 26 second-born infants who had a 3- to 6-year-old…

Investigated whether teachers, mothers, and fathers believe that parents could do more to prepare children for kindergarten. Considers what parents have done and should do to prepare children. Findings suggest that teachers are more likely than parents to believe parents need to do more. (SKC)

Presents a model of parent, child, and parent-child variables as they influence children's academic achievement; discusses reciprocity of parent-child interactions; and presents preliminary findings of a study that simultaneously considered data from each component of the model. Analysis supported the model. (SKC)

Children reveal important effects of their schooling at home. Thus, parents should play a more meaningful role in evaluating schools. When students are old enough, their feedback should be solicited for evaluation purposes. The feedback process must be structured to inform and support school personnel. (VM)

Used 198 cases of father-daughter sexual abuse to compare natal fathers, stepfathers, and father substitutes. Found non-natal fathers to be disproportionately represented among paternal abusers; however, natal fathers were more likely to subject daughters to intercourse. Found several differences between stepfathers and father substitutes.…

Discusses the educative role of the family in pre-industrial England focusing specifically the role of the mother. Provides quotes from diaries and other contemporary sources of information to document the points being made. (GEA)

Parents may better prepare their children to enter school by making sure that daily activities and household routines serve educational ends: learning scientific concepts through helping in the kitchen; being encouraged to read by having access to a variety of books. Specific activities are described. (JL)

When choosing a summer camp program for a disabled child, parents should look for programs and activities that present the child with a maximum challenge that can be met successfully. After checking agencies with information on various camps, parents should consider the camp's facilities, philosophy, resources, and staff. (CB)

Results of interviews with 35 low-income parents indicated: that most had positive feelings about special education; that most lacked information essential for making informed decisions regarding placement; and that parents of learning disabled children perceived their children differently than parents of mentally retarded children. (Author/DB)

Discusses practices of several schools in the area of parent involvement. Five types of involvement are identified: (1) basic parental obligations, (2) basic school obligations, (3) parent involvement at school, (4) parent involvement in learning at home, and (5) parent involvement in governance and advocacy. (CH)

To produce maximum learning achievement, parents and teachers can take five basic steps: (1) finding a simple approach to mastery learning; (2) improving learning conditions at the beginning of sequential courses; (3) improving the home study environment; (4) helping students develop "automatic" reading skills; and (5) stressing higher mental…