To investigate the development of children's concepts of marriage and the family, 43 preschool children were interviewed and their parents were asked to complete a questionnaire. Interviews were structured to determine whether the children had formed an appropriate gender identification, whether they had androgynous or traditional sex-role scripts, whether they wished to be parents someday, whether or not they had a script for families that recognizes the roles and relationships of family members, and whether they preferred nuclear or single-parent families. (The term "scripts" in this study refers to the complex organization of beliefs and values that helps individuals make sense of the society around them.) Parent questionnaires assessed such characteristics as family structure, parental sex roles, educational background, housing, religion, and family television-viewing patterns. The majority of parents questioned were white, middle-class, college-educated mothers living in suburban neighborhoods. Most lived within nuclear families in single-family homes and had been married once. About two-thirds of the mothers were employed outside the home. Results are discussed. (RH)