Family & Relationships

To Be a Village

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT

An old African proverb observes that it takes a village to raise a child; but in our fragmented, pressured society the traditional village that would support a growing child or teenager is a rarity.

Teen Pregnancy - One Is a Tragedy, Thousands Only a Statistic

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Teen pregnancy statistics can be very misleading. Making sense of them is somewhat like assigning meaning to tea leaves: they can say almost whatever you want them to say.

Building Resilience in a Turbulent World

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Some people seem to have a knack for coping with stress and trauma. Vision explores what it takes to develop robust emotional health in an increasingly turbulent world.

The Mother Load

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Being a mother entails countless personal sacrifices. Theodore Roosevelt acknowledged as much in 1905 when he told the National Congress of Mothers, Your duty is hard, your responsibility great; but greatest of all is your reward. While his statement rings true on many fronts, there may yet be one more to explore.

Special Report - A Tribute to Fathers

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Father's Day in the United States is often attributed to the efforts of Sonora Smart Dodd of Washington, who proposed the day in 1909 to honor her own father for raising six children alone after the death of his wife. While her efforts must certainly have made an impact, others across the United States were simultaneously working to promote such a day as well. In fact, the first recorded Father's Day had already been celebrated a year earlier in Fairmont, West Virginia, reportedly instigated by Grace Golden Clayton after an explosion killed 361 men, leaving many local children fatherless. In any case, it took the subsequent recommendations of three U.S. Presidents - Coolidge, Johnson and Nixon, before the day became a national observance in 1972. Society seems to have been equally behind-hand in recognizing the vital importance of fathers to the well-being of children. Fortunately, studies are now making it clear that mothers are no longer the only important figure in a child's life.

Childhood - The New Age of Anxiety

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Anxiety levels in American children have increased dramatically since the first effective scale for measuring childhood anxiety was published in 1956.

Grand Cultures - Strengthening Grandparent and Grandchild Ties

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Social trends over the last century have so dramatically affected family relationships that interaction between grandparents and grandchildren is almost nonexistent in many families. But the intergenerational gap can be bridged.

Boys to Men - Smoothing the Way

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Are boys in trouble? It would seem so if we are to believe all the headlines thrown our way over the past 10 years.

Who Am I? The Question of Violence

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:00:00 GMT

In violence, we forget who we are, said American novelist Mary McCarthy. If these words are true, we may be facing a generation of children who-despite the number of profile pages they may have on MySpace or Bebo-are increasingly missing a sense of identity.

Single but Not Solitary - Shattering the Myths of Singlehood

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Published just over a year ago, Bella DePaulos book, Singled Out - How Singles Are Stereotyped, Stigmatized, and Ignored, and Still Live Happily Ever After, uses humor and sometimes stinging sarcasm to explain, to singles as well as couples, that singles can be just as happy as their married friends.