Focuses on parental role in the restructuring of the American school system and problems faced by Hispanic parents interacting with personnel; describes initiatives to promote partnerships between schools and minority parents. Data collected from questionnaires indicate that Hispanics distrust school officials and feel left out of the education…

Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Labor Market Experience Youth Cohort demonstrate that a greater percentage of teenage fathers come from poor and unstable households where household members are less educated. For whites, being a father is associated with low self-esteem, but this is not true for blacks. (SLD)

Having children prepare meals is one way they can apply school learning to the everyday world. Lists 39 books that show how home-school or kitchen-classroom learning can merge. Titles listed include cookbooks, books about healthy cooking, and books about cooking and fiction, cooking and poetry, and cooking and celebrations. (TM)

Identifies recurrent uses of reading and shared reading activities. Finds no quantitatively significant differences in shared literacy activities between urban and nonurban families in Iceland, a society with a tradition of widespread and prevalent literacy. Demonstrates significant relationships between shared activities and higher educational…

Examined mother-father interdependence of white, middle-class, intact families. Extent and nature of interdependence were studied for correlation, similarity, and complementarity for variables in four domains of parenting (child-rearing values, parent-child involvement, child relationship, and child interaction). Found substantial mother-father…

Asserts that research indicates that parents have a strong influence on the development of their children's achievement motivation. Reports a study of 180 Bophuthatswana adolescents to determine the effects of living in a boarding school or with family. Finds significantly higher achievement motivation scores for the adolescents living with…

Examined the relationship of maternal interaction and private speech to task performance, using a sample of four- and five-year-old children. Findings underscore the positive, self-regulatory function of private speech, highlight the role of adult communicative support in extending the child's competencies, and call attention to the cognitive and…

Studied the effect of short-term exposure to neutral, prosocial, and antisocial toys on the prosocial and antisocial behavior of preschool children. Found that prosocial toys elicited prosocial behavior and antisocial toys stimulated antisocial behavior. In response to both prosocial and antisocial toys, boys displayed more physical than verbal…

Examined the phenomenon of natural learning of literacy among 50 preschoolers. Talking with mothers about their perceptions of their preschoolers' literacy development revealed how sensitive they are and how perceptive in their observation of what their children are doing. Suggests that child's literacy development is deeply affected by attitudes…

Parents and teachers can help children enjoy the benefits of visiting museums. While school tours are important, family visits are invaluable. Drawing real benefits from visiting museums requires in-depth family visits. The article discusses the advantages of children's museums, examines learning within museums, and presents tips for visiting…

A random telephone survey of 1,004 households in the Washington, DC, area found that alcohol use and alcohol-impaired driving, in particular, were seen as a serious problem by over 80% of the respondents. Strong support was found for legal sanctions against underage alcohol use. (SLD)

Argues that child care providers play an important role in assuring the timely and complete immunization of young children. Suggests that full immunization be a condition of participation in child care. Describes resources that can be used to promote timely and complete immunizations. (HOD)

Examines changes in level and types of support that children receive from parents, from young through middle age, using data from National Survey of Families and Households. Finds that, in general, there is no change or only a slight increase in support when children are in their twenties. Decline in all forms of support occurs after age 30. (KS)

Mothers and fathers were interviewed when their child was 3 months old and observed in the Strange Situation when their infant was 12 months old. Infants' security of attachment was predicted by the quality of interaction with parents and by the amount of time parents spent with the infant. (BC)

Discusses changes in the education of middle class British girls during the nineteenth century. Reports that, although girls' education resembled boys' and promoted self-actualization and vocational preparation, an accepted aim was to produce good wives and mothers. Observes that challenges to women's presumed roles were not widespread until later…