Method for developing answer-options to issue-questions relating to child-development

Information concerning child development is developed and stored in first and second data sets containing topics and issue-questions related thereto. The information is accessed from these data sets by selectively combining an issue-question with at least one topic to produce a primary information product. A program means associated with the data sets modifies the primary information product by imposing thereon a plurality of answer-options to the selected issue-question. Each of the answer-options comprises at least one expert opinion and one parent-expert opinion, stored in third and fourth data sets. The imposition of answer-options on the information product produces a polycentric information product, which is readily communicated by oral, written or electronic means. Advantageously, the method provides to a parent, grandparent, child, teacher, nurse, caregiver, baby-sitter, or other user or viewer, an information product that is directed specifically to the concerns of that user. The polycentric information product may be presented to the user via a computer, television, video-tape, digital-video-disk (DVD), CD-ROM, a newsletter, and other oral and written communication means, electronically or otherwise.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 1. Field of the Invention
 The present invention relates to a method of providing at least one
 answer-option to a specific issue-question relating to child-development.
 The answer-option is preferably comprised of an expert opinion and a
 parent-expert opinion of the issue-question.
 2. Description of the Prior Art
 Child-rearing and development today presents challenges somewhat different
 than those addressed by our parents and grandparents. Previous generations
 could rely on a large familial support system (i.e., the nuclear family)
 for help with child-rearing and other family issues. Today's care-givers,
 including parents, nannies, baby-sitters, teachers, nurses, and the like,
 do not enjoy the benefits afforded by this singular resource for valuable
 advice. A particularly advantageous feature provided by the nuclear
 family, and frequently missing today, is the ability to solicit and
 consider a variety of views on a particular issue--views that come from
 personal experience, subject matter experts (i.e., grandparents), and
 various other sources. This opportunity for consideration of divergent
 views on an issue better equips the caregiver to develop an informed
 decision on how best to handle that issue.
 Information is presently available for a wide variety of child-rearing and
 development issues. The quantum of literature addressing these issues
 becomes readily apparent upon perusal of library or bookstore shelves.
 Some of the literature deals with specific issues in excruciating detail
 (e.g., toilet training). Other literature addresses a whole host of
 subjects (e.g., the toddler years). A major problem with such literature
 is the tendency for presentation of singular points of view, typically the
 authors'. These one size fits all presentations do not apply to
 child-rearing and development. For this endeavor, numerous views
 concerning each issue afford far greater value to the care-giver.
 Literature references which are comprehensive enough to address the
 numerous issues important to each care-giver, and which offer a variety of
 views on these important issues, i.e., a "child's user guide", are
 virtually non-existent owing to the myriad of variables involved.
 There remains a need in the art for a method and means for providing
 caregivers with access to multi-facetted points-of-view for the
 child-rearing and development issues that are most important to the
 caregivers.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention provides a method for providing to a user
 answer-options to issue-questions relating to child development. The
 method comprises the steps of identifying a plurality of topics relating
 to child development based upon predetermined criteria; developing and
 recording a plurality of issue-questions directed to each of the
 identified child development topics; developing and recording an expert
 opinion for each issue-question; developing and recording a parent-expert
 opinion for each issue-question; selecting a topic; selecting an
 issue-question directed to the selected topic; and communicating a
 plurality of answer-options to the selected issue-question, the plurality
 of answer-options comprising at least one expert opinion and one
 parent-expert opinion and being communicated orally, in writing, or
 electronically. The present invention may be used with or without the aid
 of a general purpose computer.
 In another aspect of the present invention, information concerning child
 development is developed and stored as at least one database (obviously,
 more than one database may also be used in connection with the present
 invention) in a memory storage device of a general purpose computer as
 first and second data sets containing topics and issue-questions related
 thereto. The information is accessed from these data sets by selectively
 combining an issue-question with at least one topic to produce a primary
 information product. A program means associated with the data sets
 modifies the primary information product by imposing thereon a plurality
 of answer-options to the selected issue-question. Each of the
 answer-options comprises at least one expert opinion and one parent-xpert
 opinion, stored in third and fourth data sets. The imposition of
 answer-options on the information product produces a polycentric
 information product, which is readily communicated to the care-giver or
 user of the present invention by oral, written or electronic means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
 The present invention is directed to a method of providing a variety of
 answers to the numerous questions and issues related to child-rearing and
 development. The present invention may be tailored to a specific user or
 audience such as, for example, parents, teachers, grandparents,
 baby-sitters, children (e.g., toddlers, teens, etc.), etc. By considering
 numerous variables including geographic location and age of the child, the
 present invention can identify the topics most important to a specific
 user, prioritize these topics, and develop specific questions directed to
 each of the prioritized topics. The specific questions or issue-questions,
 are then presented to a panel of experts including child psychologists,
 psychiatrists, pediatricians, nurses, etc., to elicit answers from each
 expert for each issue-question. The issue-questions are also presented to
 a panel of parent-experts who each offer their opinion to the
 issue-question based on personal experience. The result is a plurality of
 perspectives or answer-options directed to each issue-question that are
 communicated to the user. The answer-options are preferably comprised of
 at least one expert opinion and at least one parent-expert opinion. The
 user thus benefits from the various views of the experts and
 parent-experts, and can consider the answer-options provided in addressing
 the specific issue that the user has identified as being important (based
 upon market research and other statistically gathered data).
 The present invention may be used for production of a product series that
 includes, but is not limited to, television shows and video-tapes for
 caregivers and children, CD-ROMs, computer-based training ("CBT") products
 for caregivers and children, print publications including a newsletter,
 web pages (i.e., the world-wide web), and other now available or hereafter
 developed communication media and technology.
 As used herein, the term caregiver refers to any person responsible for the
 care of a child, regardless of that person's relation to the child, the
 child's age and where the care is administered. The term parent-expert
 refers to persons identified as having actual experience with specific
 child-rearing and development issues, situations, etc., regardless of
 whether that person is in fact a parent. The terms child and children
 refer to persons between the ages of 0 and 18 years. The terms user and
 viewer are used herein to identify any person benefiting from the present
 invention.
 Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a preferred
 embodiment of the present invention. A specific group of topics relating
 to child-rearing and development are first identified. The topics may
 include: 1) toddler issues; 2) child care choices; 3) surviving marriage
 with children; 4) non traditional families; 5) preventing accidents; 6)
 how to have a happy family; 7) preventing and recognizing child abuse; 8)
 mainstreaming a handicapped child; 9) working parents' guilt; 10) raising
 a socially conscious child (respect for others, and the environment); 11)
 ensuring good nutrition; 12) single parenting; 13) fathering today; 14)
 grandparenting today; 15) the middler years; 16) surviving the teen years;
 17) sibling rivalry; 18) helping children deal with crisis (death,
 divorce); 19) raising a gifted child; 20) helping your child become a good
 student; 21) helping your child choose a successful career; 22) how to
 discipline with love; 23) raising street smart kids; 24) teaching the
 value of money; 25) families handling everyday stress; 26) building
 self-esteem; 27) dealing with infertility; and 28) relocating a family. It
 will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that these topics are merely
 illustrative, and that the topics considered by the present invention are
 limited only by the imagination of a routineer in the art. The group of
 topics may be identified using surveys of parents, focus groups,
 statistical data (i.e., data gathered by a third party directed to
 child-rearing and development), and various other information and data
 gathering sources and means.
 Once the group of topics is identified, specific issue-questions directed
 to each topic are developed. These issue-questions may be developed using
 sources and means similar to those used for identification of the topics
 described above. The specific issues an intended audience will have for
 the various topics depends on factors such as audience composition (i.e.,
 caregivers, children, etc.), age of the child, location of the family
 (i.e., city, suburb, country, etc.), socio-economic class of the family,
 and other factors. Thus, the specific questions must be developed by
 considering these and other variables so that the information provided by
 the present invention in the way of answer-options (described in more
 detail below) is meaningful and useful for the desired target audience,
 whether it be parents, grandparents, teachers, children, or whomever.
 The issue-questions are then presented to a panel of experts in the field
 of child-rearing and development. The panel may include child
 psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians, nurses, teachers, and others
 having child-rearing and development experience and knowledge. Each expert
 provides his/her answer to the issue-question, thus providing a plurality
 of theoretical expert opinions as answer-options on the specific
 issue-question. Providing various perspectives on a single subject that is
 particularly important to the intended audience as previously identified
 by the development of topic groups and issue-questions, has heretofore not
 been available from a single source, as is the case with the present
 invention. Previously, persons having child-rearing and development
 questions must consult numerous sources of information to obtain the same
 quantum of information as provided by the present invention. In addition,
 the information provided by the present invention is specific in that it
 addresses those issues identified as being the most important to the
 target audience.
 The issue-questions are also present to a panel of parent-experts who bring
 their practical experience to bear on the issues most important to
 audience. The parent-experts each provide his/her opinion on the
 issue-question, and collectively provide a variety of views and
 perspectives as answer-options on each issue-question. Thus, the expert
 panel provides primarily theoretical views and the parent-experts provide
 primarily practical views on the questions and issues identified as most
 important by the target audience. The opinions of the expert panel and
 parent-experts are provided as a plurality of answer-options that may be
 considered by the audience or user.
 For the broadcast, video-tape and DVD mediums, the issue-questions can be
 presented to the expert and parent-expert panels in the form of a question
 and answer interchange conducted by a moderator. The experts and
 parent-experts can individually respond to the issue-question thus
 providing a plurality of answer-options that expose the audience to a
 plurality of views on a question that has particular relevance and
 importance to them. This question and answer format can be repeated until
 the topic if thoroughly explored.
 In a preferred embodiment, and with reference to FIG. 3, the present
 invention is used in the development of a program series 100 that can be
 broadcast on television, cable, pay-per-view, and the like, recorded on
 video-tape or digital-video disk (DVD), or stored on CD-ROM for use on a
 general purpose computer. The program series 100 includes a number of
 individual program units 110, with each program unit 110 addressing a
 specific topic 120 and fully exploring a broad range of issue-questions
 directed to that topic 120. For this embodiment, a program series 100
 developed in accordance with the present invention will be comprised of a
 plurality of program units 110, each directed to a specific, single topic
 120. Alternatively, the program series 100 may be comprised of a plurality
 of program units 110 that address a number of topics.
 In a most preferred embodiment, the present invention is used in connection
 with the development and production of a television (network, cable, or
 otherwise) program format that regularly provides the described specific
 information.
 For non-broadcast mediums such as CD-ROM and CBT, the present invention
 operates in connection with and on a general purpose computer 10, as
 depicted in FIG. 2. The computer 10 has a processor including a central
 processing unit (CPU) 20, an input device 30 such as a keyboard or mouse
 (including those integrally provided with laptop computers), a memory
 storage device 40 such as a hard disk unit (HDU), random access memory
 (RAM), or CD-ROM, and an output device 50 such as a computer monitor,
 printer, or modem. While the present invention operates in connection with
 and on a general purpose computer, it will be obvious to persons skilled
 in the art that the computer 10 in connection with which the present
 invention is used may contain additional components and peripheral
 devices.
 Once the topic groups are identified, they are stored in the computer
 memory, preferably in a database on the HDU or CD-ROM. The issue-questions
 are also stored on the HDU or CD-ROM. The issue-questions are still
 presented to the expert panel and to the parent-expert panel to develop
 the various answer-options (i.e., expert opinions) on the issue-questions.
 These answer-options are recorded and also stored in a database on the HDU
 or CD-ROM. Using the input device 30, a user of the present invention
 first selects a specific topic from a list of topics, and then an
 issue-question from a list of "frequently asked questions" (i.e., FAQs)
 directed to the selected topic. The computer 10 retrieves the expert
 opinions and parent-expert opinions for the selected issue-question and
 communicates these opinions to the computer output device 50 as
 answer-options for consideration by the user. The user may then select
 another topic, or another issue-question directed to the previously
 selected topic. The answer-options may be presented in a variety of
 formats including text only, text and non-animated graphics, text and
 animated graphics, text and video, video and audio, and various other
 formats.
 Obviously, not every use is interested in the same topics and questions.
 Issues important to the parents of a toddler will not be the same issue
 that are important to a teenager. The present invention provides an input
 mask that consists of criteria entered by the user and that identifies the
 specific needs and interests of that particular user. The input mask will
 consider the criteria and operate as a filter or overlay to the various
 data stored in the database. Thus, user-specific information can be
 retrieved to provide an information product in the form of answer-options
 that are directed specifically to the user. Information entered by the
 user, including the user's age and geographic location, are used to
 comprise the input mask so that only information directed to the specific
 user's child-rearing and development needs is provided. The user may also
 select which answer-options should be provided, e.g., all answer-options,
 experts only, parent-experts only, etc. Thus, the information product
 provided by the present invention is customizable by the user and may be
 tailored to address those issues identified by the user as the most
 important. The user may enter criteria for the input mask either before or
 after selecting a specific issue-question.
 While the user may identify a specific issue, he/she may not know what
 questions to ask. The input mask of the present invention may operate as a
 query tool to assist the user in identifying specific questions. For
 example, a parent may have a toilet-training issue for a four-year old.
 The answer-options for this parent are distinctly different than those for
 the parent of a two-year old. Thus, the parent can enter the child's age
 as a variable criterion for the input mask and the present invention will
 consider this information when querying the stored information (e.g.,
 issue-questions, expert opinions and parent-expert opinions) to retrieve
 only that information directed to this specific parent's concern with
 his/her four-year old.
 Although not yet available, interactive television will provide another
 medium for the implementation of the present invention. Interactive
 television will provide a means by which viewers can interactively pose
 questions to the experts and to the parent-experts, who will, in turn,
 provide a plurality of answer-options in the form of their respective
 opinions on the issue-question. In this way, information provided by the
 present invention is specifically directed to the viewer and thus has
 particular relevance, importance, and value.
 Information provided in accordance with the present invention may also be
 communicated via a customized newsletter. Specific information including
 the child's birthdate may be used to provide information to the user
 specifically directed to issues for that particular child's development.
 The newsletter would also include the numerous opinions of the experts and
 parent-experts to provide various answer-options to the user.
 By taking into account the variables that determine which topics and issues
 are most important to caregivers and children (e.g., child's age, location
 of the family (i.e., city, suburb, country, etc.), socio-economic class of
 the family, etc.), and by considering these variables when identifying the
 topic groups and issue-questions, the present invention provides a method
 of providing information to a user, viewer, caregiver, child, etc. that is
 specifically directed to their immediate and pressing concerns. In other
 words, the information provided by the present invention is tailored to
 its audience. Information of this specificity has heretofore been
 unavailable. Significantly, the information provided by the present
 invention is polycentric, in that it provides numerous viewpoints (i.e.,
 answer-options) on the topics and issues that have been identified as
 being most important to the target audience.
 Having thus described the invention in rather full detail, it will be
 recognized that such detail need not be strictly adhered to but that
 various changes and modifications may suggest themselves to one skilled in
 the art, all falling within the scope of the invention, as defined by the
 subjoined claims.