The birth of a child with a disability, or the discovery that a child has a disability, can have profound effects on the family. In “You are Not Alone,” Patricia McGill Smith offers the insights that she and others have gained through their own experience of having a child with a disability. In this article, we will provide additional information to support the life cycle, health, and well-being of the family when a member has a disability.It is with a great deal of humility that we are even attempting to describe what the future may hold for you and your family. On the one hand, we want…
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Journal Article The authors performed a cluster analysis on data from 270 divorced or separated parents to classify their perceived coparental relationship with their ex-spouse and test if parents' perceptions of their children's postdivorce adjustment differed based on their perceptions of their postdivorce coparental relationship. The cluster analysis resulted in three types of coparenting relationships: cooperative and involved, moderately engaged, and infrequent but conflictual. Despite the expectation that children fare better if their divorced parents' develop a cooperative coparenting relationship,…
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Journal Article This issue of The Future of Children assesses past and current two-generation programs. But it goes much further than that. The editors identified six widely acknowledged mechanisms or pathways through which parents, and the home environment they create, are thought to influence children’s development: stress, education, health, income, employment, and assets. Understanding how these mechanisms of development work—and when, where, and how they harm or help—should aid us in designing interventions that boost children’s intellectual and socioemotional development, strengthen families, and help…
Brief
A two-generation approach to public policies brings together worlds that are often separated (focusing only on children or only on parents) to modify or create new policies that focus on the needs of parents and children together. Two-generation policies reflect strong research findings that the well-being of parents is a crucial ingredient in children’s social-emotional, physical, and economic well-being. And at the same time, parents’ ability to succeed in school and the workplace is substantially affected by how well their children are doing. Two-generation programs and policies are not a…
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Journal Article It has been widely recognised that fathers can play a key role in the development and well-being of young children. In many cases, however, fathers still have limited involvement in the early years education of their children and their voices are as yet unheard. This study examined the beliefs and practices of Jordanian fathers of kindergarten children regarding their involvement in kindergarten-based activities (KBA). The sample included 258 fathers who had children enrolled in kindergartens. Results indicated that fathers exhibited a moderate level of beliefs regarding the involvement in…
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Journal Article Studies investigating fathers' roles in child development have focused on a range of different aspects. However, few studies have focused on the early father-infant relationship, which already emerges before the child is born. The aim of this study is to examine the concordance of fathers' representations of their children during the transition to parenthood. The influences of demographic variables, psychological wellbeing, and personality on the stability of these representations are investigated. At 26 weeks gestational age and when infants were six months old, fathers (N = 243) completed…
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Many children experience adversity in the form of poverty, abuse or neglect, homelessness, or other conditions that make them vulnerable to the damaging effects of chronic stress. New research reveals that chronic stress alters their rapidly developing biological systems in ways that undermine their ability to succeed in school and in life. The good news is that we have strong evidence for programs and approaches that policy makers could use to help these children overcome the effects of stress. Home visitation and early childhood health care can give parents much-needed support and…
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Journal Article In the context of the gender revolution, contemporary norms of fatherhood emphasize men's involvement with their children in addition to their traditional role as financial provider. Improved father involvement includes several key items for "new fathers." These include making efforts to be equal partners in parenting, nurturing children, and performing both interactive and physical caregiving. However, the roles of provider and involved father may conflict: Whereas the "new father" role requires spending time with children, the "provider" role requires commitment to spending time on the…
Report, Other
This report considers the role of family participation in government entities such as boards, advisory committees, and task forces that make policy and implementation decisions regarding services for California's 1.4 million children and youth with special health care needs (CSHCN). Information was gathered through interviews with parents, advocates, and administrators, a review of literature regarding family participation, and preliminary research regarding family participation on more than 60 California State- and county-level government policy entities that have role sin programs that…
The following executive summary outlines current research gaps and future opportunity for study of fathers' ability to support themselves and their families economically. (Author abstract)
