If the connection between U.S. toilet-training theories, divorce customs during the French Revolution and Spot, the family dog, eludes you, pick up a copy of “The Child: An Encyclopedic Companion” ($75).
The new reference book, weighing only slightly less than an actual newborn, was conceived in 1999 and was 10 years in the making. It draws on the expertise of hundreds of researchers from around the world and covering topics including pediatrics, education, psychology and law in its 529 cross-referenced entries.
Say you’re concerned about the number of hours your fourth-grader spends on homework. You turn to the “homework” entry and learn that children in third through sixth grades benefit most from 30 to 60 minutes each day.
But you also learn that during the 1940s homework fell out of favor when the emphasis in education shifted from drill to problem-solving. The launch of Sputnik in the ’50s reversed this thinking, when Americans worried about their children’s technological acumen. In the ’60s, homework became a symbol of needless pressure, only to return to favor in the ’80s.
Four things we learned from “The Child”:
Child care: Although the debate over quality day care often assumes working mothers are a relatively modern phenomenon, this entry points out that in most cultures, the U.S. included, women have been working outside the home for centuries — in factories, on farms — while their husbands were at war.
Handedness: Twins are more likely to be left-handed than singletons, but identical twins can show a preference for opposite hands.
Grandparents: In 1900, only 6 percent of 10-year-olds in the U.S. had all four grandparents living. By the end of the 20th century, the number rose to 40 percent.
Pets: Children in the U.S. are more likely to grow up with a pet than with both parents.
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