The Child

The Child: An Encyclopedic Companion offers both parents and professionals access to the best scholarship from all areas of child studies in a remarkable one-volume reference.

Bringing together contemporary research on children and childhood from pediatrics, child psychology, childhood studies, education, sociology, history, law, anthropology, and other related areas, The Child contains more than 500 articles—all written by experts in their fields and overseen by a panel of distinguished editors led by anthropologist Richard A. Shweder. Each entry provides a concise and accessible synopsis of the topic at hand. For example, the entry “Adoption” begins with a general definition, followed by a detailed look at adoption in different cultures and at different times, a summary of the associated mental and developmental issues that can arise, and an overview of applicable legal and public policy.

While presenting certain universal facts about children’s development from birth through adolescence, the entries also address the many worlds of childhood both within the United States and around the globe. They consider the ways that in which race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and cultural traditions of child rearing can affect children’s experiences of physical and mental health, education, and family. Alongside the topical entries, The Child includes more than forty “Imagining Each Other” essays, which focus on the particular experiences of children in different cultures. In “Work before Play for Yucatec Maya Children,” for example, readers learn of the work responsibilities of some modern-day Mexican children, while in “A Hindu Brahman Boy Is Born Again,” they witness a coming-of-age ritual in contemporary India.

Compiled by some of the most distinguished child development researchers in the world, The Child will broaden the current scope of knowledge on children and childhood. It is an unparalleled resource for parents, social workers, researchers, educators, and others who work with children.

Richard A. Shweder (Editor in Chief) is a cultural anthropologist and the William Claude Reavis Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago. Shweder has written several books on cultural psychology and human development, including most recently Why Do Men Barbecue? Recipes for Cultural Psychology.

Richard A. Shweder (Editor in Chief) is a cultural anthropologist and the William Claude Reavis Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago. Shweder has written several books on cultural psychology and human development, including most recently Why Do Men Barbecue? Recipes for Cultural Psychology.Thomas R. Bidell is an independent scholar who received his graduate training in cognitive development at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Anne C. Dailey is the Evangeline Starr Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the University of Connecticut School of Law. Suzanne D. Dixon is a behavioral and developmental pediatrician, a professor emerita at the University of California, San Diego, and a clinical professor at the University of Washington. Peggy J. Miller is a developmental and cultural psychologist and a professor in the Departments of Communication, Psychology, and Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. John Modell is professor emeritus of education and sociology at Brown University.