Chapter 1: Parenting Life NowChildbearing Trends: Who's Having Babies?Emergent Parenting TypesHaving Children: Now, Later, or Never?Adoption: By Circumstance or ChoiceChange Over Time: Parenting Is a ProcessParent Education: The Study of Parenting Through an Applied LensParenting Life Education: Fostering Healthy Family FormationChapter 2: The Varied Experiences of ParentingParenting in Cultural ContextsWhat Is Family?Contemporary FamiliesHow Do Children Learn About Their Racial/Ethnic Identities?Culturally Specific Influences That Affect Family LifeParenting Life Education: Embracing Differences and Ending DivisionChapter 3: Understanding Parenting Through TheoryParenting and the Communication ProcessParenting Communication and ConflictUnderstanding Parenting Through TheoryFamily InteractionsPolicies Supporting Parents and ChildrenParenting Life Education: Influencing Parents and Parent Education From Contemporary and Historical PerspectivesChapter 4: Becoming Parents: Choices and ChallengesBeing PregnantPregnancy and BirthLabor and BirthPartner Relationships During PregnancyFrom Partners to ParentsUnexpected OutcomesGiving Birth: Types of Birth SettingsPregnancy LossParenting Life Education: Discussing Childbirth and Pregnancy From a Values-Respective PositionChapter 5: The Changing Nature of Parenting: Infancy and Early ChildhoodParenting Infants and ToddlersTrust, Attachment, and ReciprocityBrain Development and Infant StimulationParents as ProtectorsParents Are NurturersBuilding Self-Concept, Initiative, and LearningParenting Life Education: Addressing Family Needs and Achieving Family GoalsChapter 6: The Changing Nature of Parenting: Middle ChildhoodChild Brain Maturation and the EnvironmentChild Sexual DevelopmentMiddle Childhood: Fostering Social and Emotional GrowthMiddle Childhood: Developing IndustryMiddle Childhood: Exit Parents, Enter Friends'Tweens: Contemporary Challenges for PreadolescentsPrograms for School-Age ChildrenParenting Life Education: Fostering Roots and Nurturing WingsChapter 7: The Changing Nature of Parenting: AdolescenceAdolescent DevelopmentEstablishing Identity and AutonomyAdolescent RelationshipsAdolescent SexualityContemporary Adolescent DifficultiesPositive Adolescent DevelopmentParenting Life Education: Promoting Identity and Self-Governing While Providing a Safe Place to FallChapter 8: The Changing Nature of Parenting Life: Family Life and AgingAging and the AgedParents and Their Adult ChildrenIntergenerational TiesFamily Changes Toward the End of LifeParenting Life Education: Removing Barriers and Assisting in TransitionsChapter 9: Parenting in Single-Parent Families and StepfamiliesThe Aftermath of Divorce: TransitionsHow Divorce Affects Children and AdolescentsChallenges for Single ParentsTransitions to RepartneringParenting Life Education: Protecting Children's and Adults' Well-BeingChapter 10: Family Life and Work: A Balancing ActWorking Families: The Transformation of American HomesCouples and Work: Just Trying to Make Ends MeetThe Balancing Act: Juggling Family Life and WorkRelationships and MoneyParenting Life Education: Helping Families to Help ThemselvesChapter 11: Parenting in Times of CrisisFamily CrisisFamily Coping and ResilienceThe Crisis of Family ViolenceHomeless FamiliesParenting Life Education: #TEAMGRITChapter 12: Parenting Disabled ChildrenHistorical Narratives About DisabilitiesCritical Disability TheorySupporting Disabled Children and Their FamiliesThe Lived Experiences of FamiliesBest Practices for Parents of Disabled ChildrenParenting Life Education: Affirming Identities, Advocating for Rights and Services, and Promoting Developmental OutcomesAppendicesGlossaryReferences.