Solution-oriented therapy focuses on eliciting, evoking, and highlighting the strengths of clients, as opposed to their pathology and deficits. Here, Robert Bertolino explains his great success in applying this model to the treatment of adolescents. He describes how to work with these young clients to help empower them to change their life scripts.

At the beginning of the 21st century, there is a growing global consciousness of the issues affecting children and a commitment to address them. The "Statistical Handbook on the World's Children" responds to the significant need for a comprehensive collection of international statistical material on children that can be quickly accessed and easily understood by the general researcher.

Organized into eight sections covering such general subject areas as demography, education, health and nutrition, disease, economics, social life, and crime, the "Handbook" offers data on some of the most important aspects of these broad-ranging topics. Each section begins with a general introduction and explanation of indicators to help the user make sense of the data, which is drawn from a wide range of recognized sources including: the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the International Criminal Police Organization, the U.S. Census Bureau, the World Bank, as well as regional and government reports, studies from nongovernmental organizations, and private research papers. Care has been taken to capture the latest available data for all indicators and Web citations, where available, are included in the source notes. More than just another statistical reference, the "Handbook" concludes with an appendix containing the text of several of the most important international documents related to children as well as a glossary of useful terms, and a list of key organizations devoted to children.

Our children mean the world to us. They are so central to our hopes and dreams that we will do almost anything to keep them healthy, happy, and safe. What happens, then, when a child has serious problems? In Family Trouble, a compelling portrait of upheaval in family life, sociologist Ara Francis tells the stories of middle-class men and women whose children face significant medical, psychological, and social challenges. Francis interviewed the mothers and fathers of children with such problems as depression, bi-polar disorder, autism, learning disabilities, drug addiction, alcoholism, fetal alcohol syndrome, and cerebral palsy. Children's problems, she finds, profoundly upset the foundations of parents' everyday lives, overturning taken-for-granted expectations, daily routines, and personal relationships. Indeed, these problems initiated a chain of disruption that moved through parents' lives in domino-like fashion, culminating in a crisis characterized by uncertainty, loneliness, guilt, grief, and anxiety. Francis looks at how mothers and fathers often differ in their interpretation of a child's condition, discusses the gendered nature of child rearing, and describes how parents struggle to find effective treatments and to successfully navigate medical and educational bureaucracies. But above all, Family Trouble examines how children's problems disrupt middle-class dreams of the ""normal"" family. It captures how children's problems ""radiate"" and spill over into other areas of parents' lives, wreaking havoc even on their identities, leading them to reevaluate deeply held assumptions about their own sense of self and what it means to achieve the good life. Engagingly written, Family Trouble offers insight to professionals and solace to parents. The book offers a clear message to anyone in the throes of family trouble: you are in good company, and you are not as different as you might feel.

Free Teacher's Guide available for Childhood in America! An essential collection of sources on American childhood for teachers Childhood in America is a unique compendium of sources on American childhood that has many options for classroom adoptions and can be tailored to individual course needs. Because the subject of childhood is both relatively new on campuses and now widely recognized as vital to a range of specialties, the editors have prepared a Teacher's Guide to assist you in making selections appropriate for your courses. Collecting a vast array of selections from past and present- from colonial ministers to Drs. Benjamin Spock and T. Berry Brazelton, from the poems of Anne Bradstreet to the writings of today's young people- Childhood in America brings to light the central issues surrounding American children. Eleven sections on childbirth through adolescence explore a cornucopia of issues, and each section has been carefully selected and introduced by the editors.

The concept of time in childhood and youth is discussed in two contradictory ways; first romanticized, as a time of play, innocence, and exploration - of learning through trial and error, and second, as a time restricted by tight societal and generational structures, such as chains of care, institutional and family timetables. Children, Youth and Time reflects on the complex concept of time as perceived and experienced by children and young people in relevant societal and generational contexts. Including empirical and theoretical contributions from around the globe which shed light on time and temporality as it is negotiated by children and young people in distinction to adults, both within the family and in institutional contexts, the chapters in this collection delve into the impact of current global challenges upon children, young people, and families' time. How do critical global concerns such as climate change or the COVID-19 pandemic affect the temporal experience of children and youth? Providing fresh insight at a crucial moment of global disruption, the authors equip us with a stronger awareness of young people's perceptions of the world during periods of crisis. As a vital tool for safeguarding and implementing strategies to support children and young people in an everchanging world, this is a timely resource for researchers interested in the welfare of children and youth.

The volume was inspired by the Children and Anthropology conference at the 14th International Congress of Anthropology and Ethnological Sciences, which was held at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in July of 1998. It was there that the contributing researchers/authors presented an argument aimed at changing the face of both anthropology and the study of children. They contend that anthropologists could and should contribute to a revitalized framework for the study of children and that childhood and youth culture are important sites for developing a more innovative and integrated anthropology.

As anthropologists struggle with competing research paradigms and agendas in this post-industrial, post-structural, late-modern world, it is argued here that research on children is an important arena for demonstrating the value of an anthropology that is both integrative (across sub-fields) and comparative. It seems clear that children in the 21st century will confront a range of both new and continuing problems that anthropologists are well-situated to address, such as the exploitation of Third World child labor, AIDS and other epidemics affecting children world-wide, and the impact of immigration as well as forced relocations due to war, natural disasters, and other social and environmental ills.

We live in a globalized world in which children live in extreme poverty, experience stunted growth, are denied access to education, live as refugees, are subjected to violence, are employed as unskilled workers and even face threats from terror organizations. Drawing attention to these critical challenges, this edited collection develops holistic solutions towards achieving improved conditions and rights of children globally. Taking an interdisciplinary perspective spanning disciplines such as psychology, geography, history, philosophy, theology, education, social law and literature, Being a Child in a Global World includes over twenty chapters which delve into the concept and place of the child in the social order, as well as economic, humanitarian, and political dimensions. Featuring authorship from around the world, and combining the perspectives and knowledge of different disciplines, this edited collection is a truly ground-breaking and comprehensive multidisciplinary study. Providing answers to an urgent challenge of our time, the collection is a must-read for scholars who are interested in the global condition of childhood.

How do we understand children and young people's lives in ways that do not rely on nostalgic romantic ideals or demonising prejudices? Can the geographical concepts of space, place and spatiality enhance our understanding of childhood and how children experience their lives as social actors? This book draws on a rich and growing academic literature concerned with the spatiality of childhood and the spaces and places in which children live, learn, work, and play. It examines changing ways of seeing space, place and environment and how these can promote rethinking about children's lives across local and global scales. In common with other texts in the "New Childhoods" series, it asks for a reappraisal of modernity's assumptions about childhood and for a move towards full participation of children and young people in matters that concern us all. Combining critical discussion of theory with examples drawn from research, Rethinking Children's Spaces and Places offers readers a language to facilitate rethinking and catalyse active responses to the challenges of 21st-century childhoods.

This one-of-a kind book challenges the current thinking about black girls to show how America has failed them-and what can be done to make their lives better. African American girls are one of the United States' most endangered populations, yet meaningful explorations of the issues that impact their lives are almost nonexistent. In this riveting book, led by one of the African American community's best-known scholars, experts from across the nation explain the risks, challenges, and influences-both good and bad-faced by black girls and teens. The work shows how our society is failing them, and it outlines what can and should be done to help these young women lead happier, healthier, more successful lives. The book covers a wide range of concerns, including obesity, substance abuse, sex trafficking, gangs, teen pregnancy, and suicide attempts. Stress, low self-esteem, anger, aggression, and violence are explored, as are failures of our education system and of a legal system that tends to victimize young black women. A substantial section on parenting and mentoring discusses ways to counter the negative influences that are a constant for many black girls and adolescents. It is time for American society to recognize and react to the realities these young women face, making this book a must-read for caring parents, teachers, nurses, guidance counselor, doctors, school administrators, and school board members. Provides the first research work on this topic Covers health (physical, mental, and sexual), education, crime/criminal justice, and parenting as they affect black teen girls and adolescents Features contributors from a broad range of fields, including psychology, biology, criminal justice, sociology, spirituality, law, medicine, and popular culture Examines characteristics of at-risk girls and the lure of the "bad girl" image Clarifies what parents/mentors and others can do to help these girls and teens live happy, healthy, more rewarding lives

The problems of young black males are challenging, complex, and chronic, perplexing educators, social scientists, and policymakers. While other groups, including women and recent immigrants, have made economic and social gains in the last two decades, black youth are now more likely than they were in 1960 to be unemployed, to be involved in the criminal justice system, to be unwed fathers, and to commit suicide. Young black males are a population at risk in an escalating cycle of deviance, dysfunction, and despair.

This comprehensive volume provides in-depth analyses of the deteriorating status of black youth, particularly black males. Experts from a variety of professions examine the implications and interrelationships of the multiple problems facing black youth and propose a comprehensive set of policies and programs that address those problems. They consider such important economic, sociocultural, and political issues as unemployment, teenage pregnancy, crime and delinquency substance abuse, and the conservative backlash against civil rights and social welfare programs.

This book presents evidence that childhood prejudice is not only different from the adult kind, but also changes in a pattern inverse to that of moral judgement. "Changing Childhood" Prejudice describes longitudinal and cross-sectional studies of city and suburban children in grade, middle, and high school. Davidson used interviews to supplement observations made during playing her board game, then compared scores on the prejudice that emerged with scores on Kohlberg's "Measure of Moral Development." Considering childhood prejudice as a detour in the possible strong development of caring, character and moral judgement implies a school context smaller, warmer, and more encompassing than one relying only on mainstreaming and multiculturalism. The fact that nearly 40% of the nation's public school children will be from minority backgrounds within a few years requires new goals, including influencing parents. The authors call for school-by-school mission statements drawing parents into cooperative development of anti-prejudice and character curricula, supplementing the leadership of faculty members and some adolescents. New roles for the mental health community are also described.

Examining the research of others and their own case studies from cognitive, clinical, and social perspectives, the Davidsons conclude that ways of opposing prejudice and insisting on caring can be adapted to children's changing moral assumptions at each level of schooling. Children's might-makes-right and favor-trading assumptions in grade school change through identification with a conforming goodness. Conformity can be gradually replaced by independence in ideals, particularly when secondary students ponder their own community service. Coauthored by a clinician and a professional writer, the book tells how to achieve more caring in public schools and more cooperative discipline at home.

From the 1950s to the digital age, Americans have pushed their childrento live science-minded lives, cementing scientific discovery and youthfulcuriosity as inseparable ideals. In this multifaceted work, historian RebeccaOnion examines the rise of informal children's science education in thetwentieth century, from the proliferation of home chemistry sets after WorldWar I to the century-long boom in child-centred science museums. Onionlooks at how the United States has increasingly focused its energies over thelast century into producing young scientists outside of the classroom. Sheshows that although Americans profess to believe that success in the sciencesis synonymous with good citizenship, this idea is deeply complicated inan era when scientific data is hotly contested and many Americans have aconflicted view of science itself. These contradictions, Onion explains, can be understood by examiningconnections between the histories of popular science and the developmentof ideas about American childhood. She shows how the idealised concept of"science" has moved through the public consciousness and how the drive tomake child scientists has deeply influenced American culture.

This volume focuses on the challenges faced by Black children in the post-modern age. The authors integrate clinical and developmental psychology with history and culture to address contemporary issues in the field. The issues confronting African American children and parents are unique to this era of unparalleled prosperity. Simultaneous patterns of racial inequality and disparities continue to exist in almost all areas of human activity despite these prosperous times. This book offers an in-depth look at issues and challenges affecting African American children in the 21st century. Topics addressed include quantifying normal behavior, racial identity, racial socialization, acting white, teen fatherhood, poverty, violence, and Black males and sports. This book will be of interest to both academics and professionals in clinical development and family psychology and those involved with legal and social services for Black children.

Authors of this book discover the intricacies of friendship and peer cultures of children in multilingual settings. Volume 21 brings together empirical research from across the globe, and from various methodological and theoretical orientations to investigate children's relationships within multilingual settings such as school, home, community and online. Diverse views of children and young people on cross-cultural relationships offer rich and valuable findings and contribute new knowledge for policy makers, social workers, educators and parents about strategies children use to make friends. Internationally, the linguistic diversity of communities in the minority world is at its highest to date. With increasing numbers of children learning a language other than their home language at school or other places, it is important to understand the nature of the social relationships that children and youth are experiencing in their everyday lives in order to improve their chances of successful social experiences in the future. Applying a sociological perspective, this volume features the rich, varied and complex aspects of children's experiences of friendship in multilingual settings.

Child poverty is rising across affluent Western societies; how it is measured is vital to how governments act to prevent, alleviate or eliminate it. While the roots of childhood poverty are fiercely debated and contested, they are all too often misrepresented in policy and media discourses. Seeking to redress this problem, Treanor places children's experiences, needs and concerns at the centre of this critical examination of the contemporary policies and political discourses surrounding poverty in childhood. She examines a broad range of structural, institutional and ideological factors common across developed nations, and their impacts, to interrogate how poverty in childhood is conceptualised and operationalised in policy and to forge a radical pathway for an alternative future.

Can White parents teach their Black children African American culture and history? Can they impart to them the survival skills necessary to survive in the racially stratified United States? Concerns over racial identity have been at the center of controversies over transracial adoption since the 1970s, as questions continually arise about whether White parents are capable of instilling a positive sense of African American identity in their Black children.

" An] empathetic study of meanings of cross-racial adoption to adoptees"
"--Law and Politics Book Review, Vol. 11, No. 11, Nov. 2001"

Through in-depth interviews with adult transracial adoptees, as well as with social workers in adoption agencies, Sandra Patton, herself an adoptee, explores the social construction of race, identity, gender, and family and the ways in which these interact with public policy about adoption. Patton offers a compelling overview of the issues at stake in transracial adoption. She discusses recent changes in adoption and social welfare policy which prohibit consideration of race in the placement of children, as well as public policy definitions of "bad mothers" which can foster coerced aspects of adoption, to show how the lives of transracial adoptees have been shaped by the policies of the U.S. child welfare system.

Neither an argument for nor against the practice of transracial adoption, BirthMarks seeks to counter the dominant public view of this practice as a panacea to the so-called "epidemic" of illegitimacy and the misfortune of infertility among the middle class with a more nuanced view that gives voice to those directly involved, shedding light on the ways in which Black and multiracial adoptees articulate their own identity experiences.

Day care was originally conceived by Soviet educators as a vehicle for fostering the roots of collectivism, patriotism, and love of work in children. As idealist dreams faded, objectives were reshaped to serve conformity, instill unquestioning obedience, and minimize individual differences. The author compares child care during the 1970s and early 1990s and finds important changes in overall goals and principles. Where once meticulous attention was paid to state-provided curricula and objectives that encouraged uniform thought and behavior, Ispa found in her recent trip that some teachers were beginning to encourage independent problem-solving, initiative, and recognition of differences among individuals. Ispa makes many fascinating comparisons between Russian and American day care, both in terms of facilities and attitudes toward children and their parents. This is an important contribution to the study of childhood around the world.

Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, architecture and geography, and international contributors, this volume offers both students and scholars with an interest in the interdisciplinary study of childhood a range of ways of thinking spatially about children's lives.

A chronological history of children's playtime over the last 200 years If you believe the experts, "child's play"; is serious business. From sociologists to psychologists and from anthropologists to social critics, writers have produced mountains of books about the meaning and importance of play. But what do we know about how children actually play, especially American children of the last two centuries? In this fascinating and enlightening book, Howard Chudacoff presents a history of children's play in the United States and ponders what it tells us about ourselves. Through expert investigation in primary sources-including dozens of children's diaries, hundreds of autobiographical recollections of adults, and a wealth of child-rearing manuals-along with wide-ranging reading of the work of educators, journalists, market researchers, and scholars-Chudacoff digs into the "underground" of play. He contrasts the activities that genuinely occupied children's time with what adults thought children should be doing. Filled with intriguing stories and revelatory insights, Children at Play provides a chronological history of play in the U.S. from the point of view of children themselves. Focusing on youngsters between the ages of about six and twelve, this is history "from the bottom up." It highlights the transformations of play that have occurred over the last 200 years, paying attention not only to the activities of the cultural elite but to those of working-class men and women, to slaves, and to Native Americans. In addition, the author considers the findings, observations, and theories of numerous social scientists along with those of fellow historians. Chudacoff concludes that children's ability to play independently has attenuated over time and that in our modern era this diminution has frequently had unfortunate consequences. By examining the activities of young people whom marketers today call "tweens," he provides fresh historical depth to current discussions about topics like childhood obesity, delinquency, learning disability, and the many ways that children spend their time when adults aren't looking.

The American family structure is complicated, and only becoming more so as time goes on. Finkelstein attributes this complexity, with its accompanying value confusions and inconsistencies, to the voluntary and involuntary, uprooted, migrant, immigrant, multiethnic and multicultural origins of the country itself. As people of different cultures intermarry, the complexities surrounding communications and expectations increase dramatically with each ensuing generation. These changes, coupled with the pressures of a rapidly changing world, place the American family and, therefore, American children in jeopardy. This unique volume does not just examine the troubles that American families face, or demand that changes be made. Finkelstein approaches family problems from a direct practice perspective and speaks to the implementation of needed services.

The author designs an array of family-focused programs, emphasizing wellness, strengths, and assets. She calls on communities as well as individual agencies to organize themselves to create services, from the ordinary, such as housing, day care, education and family counseling, to the very special which includes outreach preventive services for families in trouble, family foster care, adoption, and a variety of residential options for youths with severe problems. Finkelstein stresses that these programs must be family-centered, they must be linked to past family connections, and they must build connections into the future. This work will offer students and scholars in social work, child welfare, and public policy a complete overview of the systemic difficulties of the American family as well as compatible and practical programs designed to meet current family needs.

Unintentional injuries, including car crashes, drowning, burns, poisoning, and suffocation, are a leading cause of death to young children. Child abuse, infectious diseases, and food poisoning also affect children under five. This bibliography provides information useful to those who care for young children, who are doing research on how to prevent injuries, or who supervise or train people who care for children either in child care or home settings. The volume is organized by types of injuries, and each section includes references providing information about prevalence, risk factors, specific hazards, and prevention techniques for the the injury area. Unintentional injuries, including car crashes, drowning, burns, poisoning, and suffocation, are a leading cause of death to young children. Child abuse, infectious diseases, and food poisoning also affect children under five. This bibliography provides information useful to those who care for young children, who are doing research on how to prevent injuries, or who supervise or train people who care for children either in child care or home settings. The volume is organized by types of injuries, and each section includes references providing information about prevalence, risk factors, specific hazards, and prevention techniques for the injury area. The opening chapter of the book includes references that address injury prevention in general or more than one injury class as well as curriculum guides and other training materials addressing more than one injury class. The remaining chapters address individual injury classes. Each chapter opens with a summary of findings related to the injury prevention topic.

Produced under the auspices of the "Section on the Sociology of Children and Youth of the American Sociological Association", this volume provides a cohesive, wide-ranging source of information on the life courses of children and youths. Contributions reflect: demographic analyses and projections; dualitative aspects of children's lives; children and youth in historical and cross-cultural perspective; issues of development in social context; children and public policy; and social and psychological dynamics of childhood and adolescence.