The Future Of Children Fall 2005

This second volume of The Future of Children examines family formation and child well being, with a particular focus on marriage. The authors look at the history of marriage in America, the changes in family formation and the effect of these changes on economic and social outcomes for children, and the effect of marriage policy on specific subgroups such as low-income, minority, and homosexual families. The volume also provides a review of programs that have tried to increase and stabilize marriage as well as the impact of tax and transfer policies on marriage. Contents Introduction and Overview, Sara McLanahan, Ron Haskins, and Elisabeth Donahue The Emergence of Marriage as a Public Issue, Steve Nock, University of Virginia American Marriage in the Early Twenty-First Century, Andrew Cherlin, Johns Hopkins University The Impact of Family Formation Change on Family Income, Isabel Sawhill, Brookings Institution, and Adam Thomas, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University The Impact of Family Formation Change on the Cognitive, Social and Emotional Wellbeing of the next Generation, Paul Amato, Pennsylvania State University Family Formation Choices of Low-Income and Minority Families, Kathryn Edin, University of Pennsylvania and Joanna Reed, Northwestern University Marriage Initiatives: What Might Work?, Robin Dion, Mathematica Policy Research Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting, and America's Children, Jonathan Rauch, National Journal and the Brookings Institution, and William Meezan, University of Michigan Tax and Transfer Policy", C. Eugene Steuerle, Urban Institute

A Brookings Institution Press and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University publication This second volume of The Future of Children examines family formation and child well being, with a particular focus on marriage. The authors look at the history of marriage in America, the changes in family formation and the effect of these changes on economic and social outcomes for children, and the effect of marriage policy on specific subgroups such as low-income, minority, and homosexual families. The volume also provides a review of programs that have tried to increase and stabilize marriage as well as the impact of tax and transfer policies on marriage. Contents Introduction and Overview, Sara McLanahan, Ron Haskins, and Elisabeth Donahue The Emergence of Marriage as a Public Issue, Steve Nock, University of Virginia American Marriage in the Early Twenty-First Century, Andrew Cherlin, Johns Hopkins University The Impact of Family Formation Change on Family Income, Isabel Sawhill, Brookings Institution, and Adam Thomas, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University The Impact of Family Formation Change on the Cognitive, Social and Emotional Wellbeing of the next Generation, Paul Amato, Pennsylvania State University Family Formation Choices of Low-Income and Minority Families, Kathryn Edin, University of Pennsylvania and Joanna Reed, Northwestern University Marriage Initiatives: What Might Work?, Robin Dion, Mathematica Policy Research Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting, and America's Children, Jonathan Rauch, National Journal and the Brookings Institution, and William Meezan, University of Michigan Tax and Transfer Policy, C. Eugene Steuerle, Urban Institute

Serving within the supposed pinnacles of power as a respected and influential U.S. Senator from South Carolina, Jim DeMint often felt frustrated and powerless to fight against the frightening growth of the federal bureaucracy and refute the mistaken idea that ever-bigger government is the solution to the nation's problems. In his new role as president and CEO of The Heritage Foundation, Jim DeMint has taken on the daunting responsibility of helping to lead Americans themselves to change their country's course, of redirecting us back to our founding principles and restoring and protecting our economy and culture for future generations. He realized that he - and all of us as fellow citizens - must fall in love with America - again. In this book, DeMint illustrates why Americans must rediscover the power, ingenuity and creativity of our little platoons. He then introduces Americans all across the country whose patriotism was nurtured in exactly the same way, recounting example after example of how they're working together locally in what he calls the "little platoons" - the families, churches, communities and voluntary organizations succeeding on the model that smaller is better. They are the hands-on citizens who make America the exceptional, caring and can-do country it has always been. DeMint illustrates why each of us - regardless of political party, age, race, religion or ethnicity - must rediscover the power we represent. The country's future is at risk, not just because of constant pressure from "the Bigs" (big government, big banks, big labor, big Wall Street cronies etc.), but because so many of us fear it's too late to solve problems so huge and seemingly intractable. Jim DeMint is here to reassure us that this is not true. In riveting yet plainspoken style, he tells real-life success stories and educates us via logical, historical and fact-based explanations of the issues (education, taxation, regulation, poverty, labor, health-care, environmentalism, Federalism and more). He affirms the compelling truth that conservative ideas are really American ideas, and they must guide us as we turn our institutions upside-down, taking them from the top-down centrally-controlled bureaucracies they've become back to the bottom-up democratic framework the Constitution intended. Through this heartfelt, fascinating and inspiring look inside the America of both yesterday and today, and the everyday citizens who are working tirelessly and selflessly to insure its future fulfills the promise of its beginnings, Jim DeMint is beckoning us to join him on one of the most meaningful and momentous journeys we have ever undertaken together: FALLING IN LOVE WITH AMERICA AGAIN.

Those not learned in the economic arts believe that economics is either solely or essentially concerned with commercial relations. And, so it was, originally. Then, in the second half of the 20th century, economists began applying their minimalist but sturdy tools to other human activities such as marriage, child-bearing, crime, religion and social groups. In this spirit, the Research Handbook on the Economics of Family Law gives us a series of original essays by distinguished scholars in economics, law or both. The essays represent a variety of approaches to the field. Many contain extensive surveys of the literature with respect to the particular question they address. Some employ empirical economics, others are more narrowly legal. They have in common one thing: each scholar employs a core economic tool or insight to shed light on some aspect of family law and social institutions broadly understood. Topics covered include: divorce, child support, infant feeding, abortion access, prostitution, the decline in marriage, birth control and incentives for partnering. This comprehensive and enlightening volume will be a valuable reference for those interested in law and economics generally and family law in particular.

This volume examines the causes and consequences of increasing rates of obesity and overweight among children. In addition, it reviews specific policies and programs aimed at reducing obesity and overweight and the related health problems that result. Contents: Introducing the Issue, Christina Paxson and Elisabeth Donahue (Princeton University) Childhood Obesity: Trends and Potential Causes, Patricia M. Anderson (Dartmouth College) and Kristin F. Butcher (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago) The Consequences of Childhood Overweight and Obesity, Stephen R. Daniels (University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center) Treating Childhood Obesity and Associated Medical Conditions, Sonia Caprio (Yale University School of Medicine) The Role of Built Environments in Physical Activity, Eating, and Obesity in Children, James F. Sallis (San Diego State University and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) and Karen Glanz (Emory University) The Role of Child Care Settings in Obesity Prevention, Mary Story and Karen Kaphingst (University of Minnesota and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), and Simone French (University of Minnesota) The Role of Schools in Obesity Prevention, Mary Story, Karen Kaphingst, and Simone French Markets and Childhood Obesity Policy, John Cawley (Cornell University) The Role of Parents in Preventing Childhood Obesity, Ana C. Lindsay, Juhee Kim, and Steven Gortmaker (Harvard School of Public Health), and Katarina M. Sussner (Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences)

This volume is in part intended to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. We are now a generation on from its formulation, and, as this varied collection of articles by leading thinkers in the field reflects, children's rights have come a long way. Yet the aim of this volume is not to look back, but to take stock and look forward. It explores subjects as diverse as socio-economic rights, corporal punishment, language and scientific progress as they relate to children and their rights, and offers new insights and new ideas. Edited by one of the most respected and leading scholars in the field, The Future of Children's Rights constitutes a stimulating and useful resource for academics and practitioners alike.

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

In this ground-breaking book, Alan Prout discusses the place of children and childhood in modern society. He critically examines 'the new social studies of childhood', reconsidering some of its key assumptions and positions and arguing that childhood is heterogeneous and complex. The study of childhood requires a broad set of intellectual resources and an interdisciplinary approach. Chapters include: the changing social and cultural character of contemporary childhood and the weakening boundary between adulthood and childhood a look back at the emergence of childhood studies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the nature/culture dichotomy the role of material artefacts and technologies in the construction of contemporary childhood. This book is essential reading for students and academics in the field of childhood studies, sociology and education.