In the US today it is estimated that some 80 percent of children six years and younger spend part or full time in out-of-home child care. This reflects the significant increase of mothers of young children in the work force. This new demographic has raised concerns about the impact on infants and young children of being cared for outside the home by non-parental caregivers. Many small studies have provided conflicting answers to this question because of sampling and other factors.

The meaning of family has changed significantly over the past sixty or so years. Up until recently the family referred to the nuclear unit of mother father and children. With new attitudes towards sexuality, marriage and divorce, the term family in the old sense is no longer applicable. Once a rarity, today divorce and remarriage are, if not the rule, are quite commonplace.

A couple of weeks ago one of my sons, who lives in a nearby Boston suburb, called to tell me that they had just purchased a puppy. This was at the insistence of my eight-year-old granddaughter Lily. I was pleased at this because of my own and my wife’s love of dogs (we have a thirteen year-old miniature Dachshund that we have had since he was a pup) and because the research shows that having a pet can have long lasting benefits for children.

Divorce is a one time legal event but which has long lasting psychological consequences. The effects of divorce depend upon several interacting factors.

Perhaps most important of these is the relationship between the parents. Another important consideration is the age of the child. And a third factor is the sex of the child.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, some gender differences are inborn, some are acquired and still others are thrust upon us. Some gender differences do seem to be sex linked. Girls, on the average, talk earlier than boys and are generally more verbal. Boys are more likely than girls to engage in aggressive play. While girls seem to socialize on the basis of personality and appearance boys tend to socialize around activities, mainly sports.