While a child may legally leave his parents' home at age 18, many children decide to stay for several years into adulthood. Often, this allows the adult child to attend college or save money for his own home. A parent with a 24-year-old son who is...
A father's impact is as significant as a mother's, but his interactions tend to affect unique aspects of his children's development, according to the University of Connecticut's Center for the Study of Parental Acceptance and Rejection. For...
Parental alienation is a relationship dynamic that generally arises in the context of divorce or separation, and involves the behavior of parents and children. Although clinicians once defined it as the irrational actions of a child coping with...
Violence in children includes a range of behaviors, including threats, bullying, harm to animals, aggression toward others, explosive temper tantrums and armed assault. Children who show a pattern of such behavior are often diagnosed with a...
A closed adoption is an adoption in which the adoptive family and the birth family don't have contact with each other. In most cases, neither family has any knowledge of the other family, including the names. While this type of adoption has some...
When parents choose to separate, they must decide who will retain custody of any children they have in common. Historically, sole custody has been given most often to a child's mother, with fathers having only visitation rights. Because of a...
International adoptions are popular with U.S. adoptive couples because, in contrast with the United States, more healthy children of different ages are available and periods spent waiting for approval of an adoption are shorter. But international...
The adolescent years are often filled with emotion and drama as puberty, growing independence and increased responsibilities bring enormous changes. This time of life is fraught with opportunities to fail or succeed, causing significant stress for...
As adolescents make the transition from childhood to young adulthood, they have many experiences that leave them exhilarated and despondent by turns. Perhaps more than any other time of life, adolescence is an age of dramatic emotional ups and...
When you think of how to parent a child, a complex array of theories, perspectives, and references come to mind. The way in which parents set boundaries and limits in their parenting styles truly affects the behavior of children. In examining the...
Adoptees deal with a range of difficult emotions throughout their life, leading to a variety of personal problems. Even though adoptees may be told at an early age what specific problems they can expect to face, it makes these issues no less...
It's normal and healthy for adolescents to start wondering about their identities, where they came from and why they are who they are today. It's a time of self-discovery, learning about values and beliefs, and figuring out talents. Many adopted...
Upon arriving home from the hospital, you may be anxious about your baby's sleep habits and find it necessary to have your newborn sleep with you or on you. But this routine may seriously disrupt your sleep, and soon you'll find it necessary to...
The notion of a healthy diet is something that many children mightily reject. Most parents, though, do not share that viewpoint and instead want to instill good eating habits. This clash of opinions often leads to conflicts and ends in a...
Adoption represents both a new beginning and the end of a previous way of life. Even in the best of circumstances, the loss of a birth family is difficult for a child to endure and understand. While the emotional and developmental effects of...
Toddlers can be notoriously picky when it comes to their food choices, which is why it can be hard for parents to make sure their toddlers get all of the healthy foods, vitamins and nutrients that they need. Making a feeding plan for a toddler can...
When an infant is a newborn, parenting involves caring for his basic needs, but as a child progresses through infancy to her first birthday, parenting differs among families. The Natural Child Project says that the goals of parenting produce...
Alcoholism is a chronic disease in which someone becomes dependent on alcohol. Alcoholics often lose track of time and do not remember when they had their last drink. Teens that begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to...
It's not uncommon for young children to be picky eaters. Kids are often reluctant to try new foods, and their immature palates make them ultra-sensitive to strong, unfamiliar flavors. This can mean parents become exasperated with repeated food...
Intersex problems, such as pseudohermaphroditism, true hermaphroditism or complex intersex disorders, may present at birth with clinical signs of ambiguous genitalia or may develop later as hormonal insufficiencies during puberty. Historically,...
In the past, mothers were typically given sole custody of their children after a divorce. Today, American courts recognize the equal rights of both parents to petition for custody. More and more often, judges are awarding joint custody by default....
The teen years are fraught with conflicting feelings and thoughts as these almost-grown children head closer to adulthood. Parents are often left wondering what happened to their delightful kids who went from happy-go-lucky to moody, frustrated,...
Putting up a child for adoption can invite a world of hurt into your life, but the day she finally comes back into your life can be a cause for celebration. At the same time, reuniting with a child you gave up can be intimidating and unnerving. It...
Raising a child is something everyone knows something about. Whether you have a child of your own or not, you remember how your parents raised you. If you are raising a child yourself, you may be following your parents' example. Or maybe you've...
The early years of your child's life create the blueprint for relationship capacity and his level of emotional awareness. Positive and negative experiences at home and school boost or deflate your child's self-esteem and overall emotional...
Teenage pregnancy is defined as an unintended pregnancy during adolescence. Approximately 750,000 of 15- to 19-year-olds become pregnant each year, according to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, though many teenagers do not...
Young children generally respond well to affection, but some seem uninterested or unwilling to respond to parents or peers. While, to some degree, this may be normal, it also may be a symptom of a more serious neurological condition. Parents...
Open adoption is a legal adoption in which arrangements are made for the birth parents and the child to continue to have a relationship, despite the fact that another family retains legal guardianship. While this type of arrangement is not for...
According to neurologist Ralph Adolphs, social behavior is a biological and psychological mechanism. Knowledge acquired through the five senses, the realization of a different point of view from one's own, experiences, thoughts and information...