ABSTRACT
Over a decade ago within the fi eld of communication studies, Parents, Children, and Communication: Frontiers of Theory and Research (Socha & Stamp, 1995) helped to launch research explorations of communication in parent-child relationships. That volume charted new theoretical and methodological terrain and built a platform for subsequent parent-child communication studies. This volume widens the platform of parent-child communication scholarship by bringing together veteran family communication researchers and newcomers to collectively explore the frontier of parents’ and children’s communication with the world outside of home. Specifi cally, the volume explores: communication processes and problems of parents, children, and society in the contexts of childcare, education, healthcare, and youth sports; how parents, children and societal agents use electronic media in their interactions; and communication challenges facing stepfamilies and gay/lesbian families in their interactions outside of home. Paraphrasing the thesis of a popular book that focused on children, It Takes a Village (Clinton, 1996), this volume examines communication between and among parents, children, and some of the villagers entrusted with children’s welfare.
