Different can be great! Makayla is visiting friends in her neighborhood. She sees how each family is different. Some families have lots of children, but others have none. Some friends live with grandparents or have two dads or have parents who are divorced. How is her own family like the others? What makes each one great? This diverse cast allows readers to compare and contrast families in multiple ways.

Recognizing that socialization is one of the most important aspects of child development, this lively and engaging book examines socialization issues of young children during child rearing, in child care facilities, and in the early education system within a developmental context. Child development as it relates to a child's first eight years, to a healthy family, and to a multicultural community is presented to readers through personal stories, vignettes, pictures, and a wealth of examples. For anyone with a personal or professional interest in early childhood development and education.

In this classic of child development, the author explores problems of the only child, of stealing and lying, shyness, sex education in schools and the roots of aggression, presenting his work in a lucid, friendly and insightful manner.

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

Children, family and the state examines different theories of childhood, children's rights and the relationship between children, parents and the state.

A thirty year veteran clinical psychologist describes in intimate detail how being the favorite child can confer both great advantages and significant emotional handicaps. Also illuminating for young parents seeking the best way to rear their children.