This paper will explore the balance between children's rights and parental responsibility from a family systems perspective. Children do not grow up in a vacuum; they are part of a biological, psychological and social system. The interaction of the child and parent within this system must include the development of responsibilities by the parent…

This article advances a balanced discussion of the extent to which varied outcomes are evidenced in adulthood after one has been parentified in childhood. Recommendations are provided that may help counselors avoid the potential overpathologizing of clients with a history of parentification. Suggestions for clinical practice are put forth for all…

This article presents an emergent conceptual model of childhood adultification and economic disadvantage derived from 5 longitudinal ethnographies of children and adolescents growing up in low-income families. Childhood adultification involves contextual, social, and developmental processes in which youth are prematurely, and often…

Within early years education research there is a lack of research that focuses on the child and that constructs the child as co-constructor of knowledge, culture and identity. Although there is much writing on early childhood education with regard to teacher practice, pedagogy and curriculum, these discussions are rarely informed by the…

Describes an international program CHILD-to-child, which is designed to teach and encourage older children of developing nations to take a role in caring for and improving the health and development of their younger brothers and sisters. (Author/BB)

Compares responses to the issue of children caring for ill or disabled family members in the 1990s to resistance encountered in the implementation of child labor and education reforms toward the end of the nineteenth century. Discusses parallel ways in which the quality of childhood became problematized without sufficient recognition of the…

Summer outings can be fun if parents let children make the plans. Children can plan outings and learn valuable skills if parents let them gather the information, map and direct the route, plan a picnic, make an agenda, list necessary items, pack the car, plan activities, and learn by doing. (SM)

Examines the place of children's work in family life, paying particular attention to the way in which expectations regarding work are based on underlying concepts of children, parenting, and obligations among family members. (PCB)

Proposes rethinking citizenship so as to include children, maintaining that such thinking can prompt consideration of the similarity of concerns confronting children and adults. Argues that we need to rethink the value of the language of rights and its social significance. Concludes with examination of the requirements of such a vision of…

Examines views of early childhood theorists and educators regarding work in the lives of young children. Discusses young children's performance of chores around the world, work opportunities in one U.S. child care center, expanding chore choices in child care and early education settings, developmental issues related to work, and the promotion of…

Reports on a recently developed scale that examined adolescents'(N=400) perceptions of their family responsibility-taking. Results indicate that adolescents who felt they assumed more family responsibility reported less depression, more intimate relationships with their parents, and higher self-esteem. Adolescents viewed family…

Questionnaires completed by 83 Navajo college students were used to study effects of acculturation on attitudes of Navajo youth toward providing support and care for their elderly parents. Approximately two-thirds of the respondents--representing both high and low levels of acculturation--believed that children should provide financial support for…

Investigated effects of family employment structure on adolescents' (N=176) participation in family chores. Results indicated that dual-earner families were more sexist than traditional families with respect to time in chores demanded of sons and daughters. Although traditional families required equal amounts of chore time from sons and daughters,…

Examines three prevalent parental recommendations for reducing children's exposure to violence, noting that if delivered in an authoritarian manner, anticipated outcomes may not occur. Argues that child involvement in setting up family rules encourages self-awareness for children to monitor their own behaviors. Includes five examples of suggested…

Reviews family responsibility, youth's obligations, and the flows of moral and material capital from child to parents as well as parents to children. Suggests that children's competence in assisting others and ability to make civic contributions affect family survival and children's developmental transitions, social behavior, and cognitive…