CFD 250 Parenting in Contemporary Society
Fall 2011
Chapter 5 Assignment
1. What major factors influence a person’s decision to become a parent?
2. Is first-time parenthood a crisis experience for many adults?
3. How does first-time parenthood affect a couple’s committed relationship?
4. What other factors may influence someone’s adjustment to becoming a parent.
5. What new medical technologies assist people with reproductive difficulties in becoming parents?
6. What major factors and issues relate to adopting children?
7. What are the different types of adoption? Should adopted children be informed of their birth circumstances?
8. What is foster care?
9. Why are children placed into the foster care system?
10. What are some of the characteristics of foster children?
11. What are foster parents like, and why does someone become a foster parent?
12. What particular challenges face foster parents?
13. What are some outcomes for foster children?
14. What can be done to improve the foster care system?
15. What kinds of support are available for new parents?
CFD 250 Parenting in Contemporary Society
Fall 2011
Chapter 6 Assignment
1. Should a mother who has a substance addiction be allowed to have custody of a new baby?
2. Should the decision to allow custody have conditions such as the mother participating in a treatment program?
3. Do medical personnel have an obligation to report such mothers to child protection agencies?
4. What parenting advice would you offer to a new parent who is taking their baby home about what to expect in the months to come in their marriage, home routines and social life?
Be sure to provide in depth and complete responses to these questions. Simply responding with a sentence or two will not earn full points.
CFD 250 Parenting in Contemporary Society
Fall 2011
Chapter 7 Assignment
Develop a 1-2 page handout for parents entitled “Parenting Infants and Toddlers”. Include helpful information for parents related to this age. Be sure to capture the essence of the entire chapter rather than focusing in on one part of the chapter. Be sure to cite the book as the source at the end of the document. Be sure to do a thorough spelling and grammar check. Avoid the use of big font, too much clip art and too large of headers.
CFD 250 Parenting in Contemporary Society
Fall 2011
Chapter 8 Assignment
Develop a 1-2 page handout for parents entitled “Parenting Preschoolers”. Include helpful information for parents related to this age. Be sure to capture the essence of the entire chapter rather than focusing in on one part of the chapter. Be sure to cite the book as the source at the end of the document. Be sure to do a thorough spelling and grammar check. Avoid the use of big font, too much clip art and too large of headers.
CFD 250 Parenting in Contemporary Society
Fall 2011
Chapter 9 Assignment
Develop a 1-2 page handout for parents entitled “Parenting School Age Children”. Include helpful information for parents related to this age. Be sure to capture the essence of the entire chapter rather than focusing in on one part of the chapter. Be sure to cite the book as the source at the end of the document. Be sure to do a thorough spelling and grammar check. Avoid the use of big font, too much clip art and too large of headers.
CFD 250 Parenting in Contemporary Society
Fall 2011
Chapter 10 Assignment
Develop a 1-2 page handout for parents entitled “Parenting Adolescents and Young Adults”. Include helpful information for parents related to this age. Be sure to capture the essence of the entire chapter rather than focusing in on one part of the chapter. Be sure to cite the book as the source at the end of the document. Be sure to do a thorough spelling and grammar check. Avoid the use of big font, too much clip art and too large of headers.
CFD 250 Parenting in Contemporary Society
Fall 2011
Chapter 11 Assignment
1. What major factors are responsible for creating single-parent family systems?
2. How does divorce affect parents as individuals and as caregivers?
3. How are children affected by parental divorce?
4. What important issues relate to child custody decisions?
5. What are the characteristics of a single-parent family headed by a woman and that headed by a man?
6. How is parenting conducted in each of these family systems?
7. What major adjustment issues are encountered in single-parent families?
8. What kinds of support are available to these families?
9. What stressors and coping mechanisms are revealed by a systemic family development snapshot of a single-parent family?
Be sure to provide in depth and complete responses to these questions. Simply responding with a sentence or two will not earn full points.
CFD 250 Parenting in Contemporary Society
Fall 2011
Chapter 12 Assignment
1. Develop a list of 50 fascinating facts from Chapter 12. Be sure to cite the page number after each fact and the book as the source at the end of the document.
CFD 250 Parenting in Contemporary Society
Fall 2011
Chapter 13 Assignment
1. What challenges confront parents and family members who learn that a child is gay or lesbian?
2. Why are some gay men and lesbian women parents?
3. Does sexual orientation affect one’s ability to parent children effectively?
4. Are children harmed by being raised by gay or lesbian parents?
5. What would you do and say if your best friend shared the news with you that one of his or her children is gay or lesbian?
Be sure to provide in depth and complete responses to these questions. Simply responding with a sentence or two will not earn full points
CFD 250 Parenting in Contemporary Society
Fall 2011
Chapter 14 Assignment
1. What are the principal reasons contributing to adolescent parenthood?
2. How prevalent is this problem?
3. What are the implications for the adolescent girl and boy who initiate pregnancy?
4. Are there short and/or long term consequences for teen pregnancy?
5. What kinds of community support are available for teenagers who become parents?
6. What is being done to prevent or decrease teen pregnancies?
7. What are the pros and cons about health clinics located in junior and senior high schools dispensing contraceptives to any student who requests them?
8. Can parents of teenage expectant parents be held responsible in any way for this situation?
9. Why don’t sex-education program in junior and senior high schools have a greater effect on reducing the number of teenage girls who become pregnant each year?
10. Why don’t programs that stress abstinence or delayed sexual activity have a great impact?
All answers should be in depth and complete in nature. Simply responding with a sentence of two will not earn full points.
CFD 250 Parenting in Contemporary Society
Fall 2011
Chapter 15 Assignment
1. What are the major issues relating to parental abuse and neglect of children?
2. How are abusing parents and their children characterized?
3. What are the major consequences of abuse for children?
4. What intervention strategies help parents to control their abusiveness and provide treatment for children?
5. What effects can be observed in a family and its members when one or both adults are affected by a dependency or addiction to a substance, an experience, or some other agent?
6. What is codependency?
7. What are the different kinds of codependent patterns?
8. What kinds of roles are ascribed to children in codependent families
All answers should be in depth and complete in nature. Simply responding with a sentence of two will not earn full points.
CFD 250 Parenting in Contemporary Society
Parenting Project Guidelines
Choose one of the following topics for this project:
- Interview Fathers
- Locate and interview 3 males who have had a large role in raising children (biological, adopted, foster, step, grand, etc).
- Be sure to interview at least one father in each of the following age groups:
a. 20 to 40 years of age
b. 41 to 60 years of age
c. 61 + years of age
- Research the role of fathers in raising young children using the textbook and/or other sources. Be sure to consult at least 5 separate professional sources. Write a brief review of your findings and cite sources appropriately.
- Develop a list of 20 questions to ask the fathers. Ask numerous open ended questions (opinion rather than right or wrong) to encourage the fathers to engage in lively discussion about their roles, opinions, things they did right/wrong, how parenting has changed, advice to today’s fathers, etc. Questions may differ based on the age range of the father.
- Keep a journal of their responses during the interview.
- Write an 8-10 page reflection on what you learned and views expressed during the interview process and how this supports or fails to support what you found in the research. Be sure to also submit the review of findings mentioned in #3 above. Be sure to include a brief description of each father and their children (names, ages, family structure-roles within the family, jobs, etc).
- Research the Cost of Raising a Child and Sending them to College Today
- Research the cost of raising a child in America from conception to age 18.
- Research the cost of sending a child through college to complete a bachelor’s degree.
- Research the cost of raising a child with special medical needs or learning disability.
- Write an 8-10 page paper on the costs of raising a child today.
- Be sure to cite at least 10 professional sources using APA or MLA format.
