First Published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Modern families face challenges unprecedented in human history. The time, attention and vigilance required of parents is exhausting and consuming family life. Parents are required to balance complex schedules, be technology aware, social media informed, constantly monitor children’s screen time and media communication, cope with academic problems, shield them from the dangers of immorality, find inventive ways to overcome their boredom, organize extracurricular activities, and handle everything within financially constrained circumstances that increasingly require both to be working. Little wonder that anxiety is on the rise and parents are increasingly fearing for their children’s future. The authors in this book attempt to address parents’ concerns and equip them with the confidence and tools necessary to work towards understanding and addressing the real needs of both themselves and their children, to nurture the child’s character, self-confidence, life skills, moral boundaries, spiritual development and much more. There is no quick-fix. Myths are debunked, and practical tips offered throughout which can be implemented immediately, with fun activities outlined at the end of each chapter with the aim of improving parent-child relationships through bonding, love, patience, openness, respect and communication.

This handbook provides an interdisciplinary perspective on theory, research and methodology on dynamic processes in parent-child relations. It focuses on cognitive, behavioural and relational processes that govern immediate parent-child interactions and long-term relationships.

This is the eBook of the printed book and may not include any media, website access codes, or print supplements that may come packaged with the bound book. Now in the Ninth Edition, Jerry Bigner's Parent-Child Relations, the classic resource for child development professionals and parents themselves, has undergone a thorough revision anchored by the vision of the late Dr. Bigner and executed by new co-author, Clara Gerhardt. Maintaining its fundamental structure and unique approach, the text uses family systems and systemic family development theory as a framework to explore how parent-child re.

This life-course analysis of family development focuses on the social dynamics among family members. It features parent-child relationships in a larger context, by examining the help exchange between kin and nonkin and the intergenerational transmission of family characteristics.

This is the eBook of the printed book and may not include any media, website access codes, or print supplements that may come packaged with the bound book. This life-span approach to parent-child relations gives students a comprehensive, contemporary look at theories, research, and techniques within historical and cultural contexts. It covers every stage of development, including older parents and their adult children, and uses an inclusive approach that looks at a variety of different family contexts, such as foster families, military families, and families with an LGBTQ member, as well as the influence of culture and ethnicity on family beliefs and behaviors. The first chapter focuses on the history of theoretical and research influences of childrearing to help students understand why parents today hold certain beliefs regarding how to raise children. Theory and research are then interwoven through the book. An early chapter on strategies and techniques also sets the stage for upcoming discussions of parent-child relations. Written with the student in mind, the book presents numerous examples. Critical thinking questions in every chapter encourage students to stop and consider their views regarding the material, and Spotlight features throughout provide examples of the influence of technology, diversity, and poverty on families. The Enhanced Pearson eText version includes embedded video examples and Test Your Knowledge quizzes with feedback that enable students to check their understanding of the material.

The purpose of this book, is to present a rather simple argument. Parents' thoughts about childrearing and the ways in which they interact with children to achieve particular parenting or developmental goals, are culturally determined. Within any culture, children are shaped by the physical and social settings within which they live, culturally regulated customs and childrearing practices, and culturally based belief systems. The psychological "meaning" attributed to any given social behavior is, in large part, a function of the ecological niche within which it is produced. Clearly, it is the case that there are some cultural universals. All parents want their children to be healthy and to feel secure. However, "healthy" and "unhealthy," at least in the psychological sense of the term, can have different meanings from culture to culture.