Each generation of American children across the tumultuous twentieth century has come of age in a very different world and under the influence of different major historical events such as war or the depression. Now in paperback, Children in Time and Place brings together social historians and developmentalists to explore the implications of a changing society for children's growth and life chances. Transitions provide a central theme, from historical transitions to the social transitions of children and their developmental experiences. Children in Time and Place begins with studies that link...

It has been said that fathers are a biological necessity but a social accident. Fifteen years ago, when Ross Parke first wrote about fathers for the Developing Child series, American culture seemed to adhere strongly to the stereotype of Dad the breadwinner, pacing outside the delivery room and peeking through the nursery window, and Mom the homemaker, warming bottles and changing diapers. In the intervening years the conventional image of the uninvolved father has given way to a new stereotype: the father who takes an active part in rearing his children.

Future Families explores the variety of family forms which characterize our contemporary culture, while addressing the implications of these increasingly diverse family units on child development.

• Reveals the diversity of new family forms based on the most current research on fathers, same-gender parents, new reproductive technologies, and immigrant families
• Illustrates that children and adults can thrive in a variety of non-traditional family forms
• Shows the interrelatedness of new trends in family organization through the common themes of embedded...