This study examined parents and preschool children interacting in two informal alphabet learning activities, using picture books and interacting with software on a personal computer. Results showed few differences in the way mothers and fathers reacted with preschoolers, but there were differences in consistency across the two settings. (LMO)

Profiles the current trend of parents' choosing to educate their children at home. Provides data on the numbers and motivations of such parents and examines the surrounding legal issues. Challenges the premise of compulsory schooling on the basis of achievement data that document the superior performance of home-schooled children. (KH)

A child with a serious disability can have an extensive emotional impact on the family. A case study of the parents of a disabled child describes the demands imposed on them by therapeutic programs and the use of counseling to focus on their marriage and their problem-solving styles. (JDD)

Contrasted parents whose adolescent had left home for college, with those whose child commuted to college from home. Found parent role stress for both groups significantly related to the quality of parent-adolescent communication (for mothers and fathers), and the degree of emotional connectedness (for fathers) in the family prior to the…

Presents an annotated bibliography of children's books which parents and teachers can use to help young children deal with separation anxiety and other feelings associated with the beginning of school. (BB)

Summarizes selected definitions of transition that are currently in use and analyzes them for characteristics which are generic to transition planning for handicapped youth. Identifies eight key elements which should be included in rural transition programs and discusses barriers to effective transition in rural areas. (JHZ)

Examines the relationship between leisure-time reading and home environment, reading attitude, and reading motivation. Suggests, from the perspective of developing the leisure reading habit, that (1) what parents "do" is more important than what they "are" and (2) the emphasis placed on reading in the home and on academic and intellectual…

Presents guidelines for parents and teachers on preparing young children (3 to 8 years old) for a visit to the art museum. In preparing children for museum experiences, education for the art museum should be related to child development, begin long before entering a museum ("museum education"), and be sequential. (BB)

Factors identified during an earlier study were used to ascertain features of the stress experienced by mothers of school-aged children with Down's syndrome, other mental retardation, autism, or double (mental and physical) handicaps. The utility of these stress patterns, efficacy of other factors not used, and interview methods are discussed.…

Maintains that play is a basic activity necessary for normal development of young children; it aids in the development of cognitive skills, social skills and moral rules, control of one's environment, emotional release, flexibility/creativity and physical ability and condition. Also presents teachers and parents with ideas to encourage play.…

Data collected from 82 family triads demonstrate that adolescents are more consonant with mothers than fathers, particularly in the area of kinship relations. Fathers' distinctive association with adolescents is in the area of friendship relations and concerns affective aspects of relationships. These patterns are not dependent on gender of…

Describes Metro Toronto Children's Aid Society program, a Father's Support Group, designed to serve men with history of problems through support and counseling on topics such as alcoholism, drug addition, and child and wife abuse. The program's emphasis on value and importance of father's role aims to enhance parenting abilities. Three case…

Compares the parent-child interactions of rejected, neglected, and popular boys aged three, four, and five years, in a paradigm emphasizing physical play. Results indicate the importance of the regulation of affect for social competence and illustrate strong links between the parent and peer social system. (Author/RWB)

Self-generated codes to insure student anonymity were used in a study of substance use among 2500 adolescents. Matching rates for various cohorts as a proportion of total respondents at different survey periods were less than ideal. The effects of coding and other attrition factors on the tracking are discussed. (JAZ)

Literature dealing with parent involvement in home-based therapeutic programs for young developmentally disabled children is reviewed. Although research suggests such home based programs can be effective, professionals should carefully consider their expectations of parents as therapists, since they must also play the role of parents and primary…