What is family time? What value do we place on it? How many families today have time to be families? How do families view, use and seek to control time, and how successful are they at it? The concept of time is central to the study of families and is used in different ways: families changing through history; families experiencing the passage of time as they age over the life course; and families negotiating time for being together. Synthesizing these different concepts into a broad theory of how families understand time, Kerry J Daly examines time as a pervasive influence in the changing experiential world of families.

In this charming nonfiction book, beginning readers will learn about the ways families have stayed the same--and changed--over time. With its vivid and charismatic images of families throughout time, helpful text, and a table of contents, glossary, and index, children will be excited to learn about families from the past and will be inspired to compare them to families today.

What will you do when you get the call that a loved one has had a heart attack or a stroke? Or when you realize that a family member is too frail to live alone, but too healthy for a nursing home? Journalist Paula Span shares the resonant narratives of several families who faced these questions. Each family contemplates the alternatives in elder care (from assisted living to multigenerational living to home care, nursing care, and at the end, hospice care) and chooses the right path for its needs. Span writes about the families' emotional challenges, their practical discoveries, and the good news that some of them find a situation that has worked for them and their loved ones. And many find joy in the duty of caring for an older loved one. There are 45 million Americans caring for family members currently, and as the 77 million boomers continue to age, this number will only go up. Paula Span's stories are revealing and informative. They give a sense of all the emotional and practical factors that go into the major decisions about caregiving, so that readers will be better able to figure out what to do when the time comes for them and their loved ones.

Different can be great! Makayla is visiting friends in her neighborhood. She sees how each family is different. Some families have lots of children, but others have none. Some friends live with grandparents or have two dads or have parents who are divorced. How is her own family like the others? What makes each one great? This diverse cast allows readers to compare and contrast families in multiple ways.

What is family time and what value do we place on it? How many families today have time to be families? How do families view, use, and seek to control time, and how successful are they at it? Caught between a public world speeding along on information superhighways and their own private desire to preserve the family as a rest stop, family members look for new and efficient ways to protect, control, and manage their time. The concept of time is central to the study of families and is used in several different ways: families have changed through history, families experience the passage of time as they age over the life course, and families negotiate time for being together. Families & Time is the first to synthesize these differing concepts of time into a broad theory of how families understand time. In this important volume, Kerry J. Daly examines time as a pervasive influence in the changing experimental world of families. The book opens with a discussion of the various ways time can be conceptualized, in general, followed by an examination of how families have experienced time throughout history. Subsequent chapters examine the social construction of time in families; as well as such specific topics as time and technology in the home; controlling time; and the societal, gender, and intergenerational politics of family time. Though at its heart a theoretical book, Families & Time consciously focuses on the practical aspects of this theory in understanding the power in the family, the family life cycle, and work/family conflicts. Scholars interested in the development of theory of the family, examining gender and work issues, and exploring various perspectives on time will find this book indispensable. "In this compelling portrayal of the patterns and politics of family time, author Kerry J. Daly has produced a masterpiece. Destined to become a classic, Families & Time will alert scholars across disciplines to the breadth and depth of interdisciplinary family studies. Accessible to everyone, Families & Time can be read for knowledge and pleasure, as a new contribution to family theory construction, a mediation on the pervasiveness and value of time in family experience, and a wellspring of creative ideas for families who want to gain control over their perceived loss of time in an accelerated society. Scrupulously documented in a writing style that combines metaphor, narrative, and empirical findings, Daly succeeds in offering a new consciousness and theory of family time. I will read and recommend this book to others over and over again." --Katherine R. Allen, Ph.D., Family and Child Development, Virginia Tech

Drawing on research from the Timescapes Study, this volume discusses the life chances and experiences of children and young people, parents and older generations. A unique qualitative longitudinal study forms the basis for the chapter contributions, delivering policy-relevant findings to address individual and family lives over time.

Prime-Time Families provides a wide-ranging new look at television entertainment in the past four decades. Working within the interdisciplinary framework of cultural studies, Ella Taylor analyzes television as a constellation of social practices. Part popular culture analysis, part sociology, and part American history, Prime-Time Families is a rich and insightful work the sheds light on the way television shapes our lives.

Examines costs associated with the use of homeless and mainstream service delivery systems by families and individuals experiencing homelessness for the first time in six study communities. Assigning costs to public programs is a first step toward developing measures of the value of public interventions compared to the public costs incurred by ignoring or avoiding the problems those interventions are intended to address. The study finds that the experience of homelessness is diverse and the associated costs vary tremendously depending on the pattern of homelessness and family or individual status. It is not, however, a study of either cost-effectiveness or quality of care, but rather a calculation of costs associated with homelessness. Illustrations.

In this special edition from TIME, The Science of Families, explore the evolution of the human family and all the life-events that effect it including adoption, childbearing, death, and more.

This book describes an approach to short-term therapy with children and families that has been developed at a health maintenance organization, the Harvard Community Health Plan (HCHP). First published in 1989. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.