Ties That Stress: The New Family Imbalance
Well known for The Hurried Child (Addison-Wesley, 1988), Elkind focuses on the family unit in his latest publication. Supporting his arguments with a well-documented study of the family, Elkind (child study, Tufts Univ.) is critical of both the modern nuclear family for its imbalance toward the child and the postmodern permeable family for its imbalance toward the parents. The "nuclear family" is defined as the family of the 1950s, characterized by romantic love, unilateral authority, and domesticity. The "permeable family" is the current paradigm, characterized by consensual love, shared parenting, mutual authority, and autonomy. Though his critique is not unique, Elkind concludes that hope can be found for the development of the "vital family" to replace both earlier models. The vital family-characterized as one that "energizes and nurtures the abilities and talents of both children and their parents"-would combine the best of both models and would accommodate the changes in society that have been occuring at an increasingly rapid rate. An essential purchase for academic, including community college libraries, this important work also belongs in larger public libraries.Kay Brodie, Chesapeake Coll., Wye Mills, Md.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.