Product Review

Parent-Child Relations: History, Theory and Context, Third Edition,is the most comprehensive book available on the relationship between parent and child. The author presents the historical and cultural contexts of parent-child relations, taking a unique developmental and contextual approach to the subject, addressing parenting theory, research, and application. The text points out the similarities and differences in parent-child relations across many cultures, in age and gender, and at each stage of life. Parenting strategies are also given a great emphasis in this text, covered early on to set the stage for the later chapters that focus on parenting at different levels of development. These strategies provide guidance for parents as well as for professionals working with children and their parents or other caregivers. Changes to the third edition include an increased emphasis on the various contexts of parenting, more discussion of the role of gender in parent-child relationships as well as an expanded coverage of the role of fathers, a greater emphasis on other persons in the parental role such as foster parents and grandparents who are rearing their grandchildren, and a focus on the influence of technology on the lives of parents and children, interwoven through most of the chapters.