Cover: Introduction and Overview

Introduction and Overview

Published In: In Halfon N, McLearn KT, Schuster MA, (eds.) Child Rearing In America: Challenges Facing Parents of Young Children (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 1-17

Posted on RAND.org on January 01, 2002

by Neal Halfon, Kathryn Taaffe McLearn, Mark A. Schuster

In their introduction and overview, the authors set the stage for the book's discussion of families with very young children. The impetus for the book was a unique survey conducted in 1995-96 by The Commonwealth Fund. A national sample of more than 2,000 mothers and fathers, the Commonwealth Survey of Parents of Young Children provided a snapshot of the condition of families with young children and the pressures and concerns faced by parents in shaping the home environments and lifestyles of those families.

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