Alice Rossi's 1977 article, "A Biosocial Perspective on Parenting," considered relationships among biology, the family, other social structures, and feminism. In this article, Rossi, together with a panel of sociologists and psychologists researching dimensions of physiological/psychological links to behavior, comment on the original…

Argues that although meta-analysis makes an important contribution to summarizing attachment studies, it limits the conceptual understanding to simple causal models and ignores family systems models that could illuminate the development of secure and insecure attachment. Maintains that fathers' role in attachment and the impact of the quality of…

Used interviews and questionnaires to examine parents' role in supporting bilingual competence of Singapore preschoolers. Found that well-educated mothers used English in everyday interactions and provided story reading, television, and video viewing in English and Mandarin. Parents were aware of the need for appropriate physical and material…

Contends that parents choose and are satisfied with substandard child care. Explores how educators expect available resources to influence parents' child care choices and how parents actually choose child care. Discusses possible explanations, including incongruence between parents' and educators' basic beliefs and values relating to child care…

Two articles discuss problems that infant caregivers deal with in their work place. The first article provides ideas on how to take care of and pacify a crying baby; the second discusses the experience of a caregiver in a group child-care situation which involved her own child, noting the transition from infant room to toddler room. (AA)

Describes the four levels of the early childhood education system in Cuba. Includes information on home visit programs for new parents, child care programs, preschool programs, programs for 5-year-olds, and primary school programs. Emphasizes that parents, relatives, teachers, and the larger community share the responsibility of educating young…

Discusses the difficulties experienced by fathers in carrying out what they accept as their parental responsibility to communicate with their children about sexuality. Includes examples from interviews with fathers, their wives, and their adolescent children. Finds that fathers' difficulties result from conflicts between traditional masculinity…

Explores teen-initiated communication with parents about same-sex attraction, coming out, and adolescent sexuality. Reports the findings of a qualitative study on teen and parent reactions as well as a number of strategies which emerged that may help maintain healthy relationships in the face of developing sexuality. (Author/SD)

Outlines the subjective concept of parenthood as the personal interpretation of parental responsibility, distinguishing it from related theoretical concepts. Discusses, against the background of theoretical models and empirical findings, the relationship of the parenthood concept with the parents' actual educational behavior. Suggests ways to…

Presents a brief history of early childhood education in Poland and changes occurring in the 1990s. Outlines the government's minimum standards for kindergarten education, including aspects of child development that are considered crucial, and ways in which classroom practices have become more child responsive. Discusses the roles of religion,…

Discusses the importance of supporting young children's socialization process from the perspective of a teacher educator/researcher, a parent, and a caregiver. Describes four stages of socialization (using physical aggression, asking for help, using words, and problem solving) and offers recommendations for corresponding spacial needs, play…

Examines how the parents of a 2-year-old child elicit and sustain the child's attention during mundane activities such as playing an educational game and telling a story. Notes that triadic interactions are fostered by the arrangement and blending of artifacts, the parents' complementary roles, the use of affective morphology and of nonvocal…

Provides several suggestions to parents willing to help their children understand the importance of developing and practicing healthful habits. Discusses advantages of washing hands regularly and thoroughly and developing good oral hygiene. Urges parents to practice and teach healthful habits and become models for their children. (AA)

Examines parents' role--especially paternal participation--in family processes in poor and nonpoor two-parent families. Used longitudinal data to observe poverty patterns, and measured various factors, such as educational level, to determine their impact. Findings show that poverty and welfare experiences influence levels of father involvement…

This study examined the beliefs of kindergarten, first-, and second-grade teachers regarding families' competence to contribute knowledge to their child's educational process. Findings suggest the need to consider the beliefs of current, as well as prospective, teachers regarding the frequently neglected "other half" of the partnership,…