Latch Key Children (continued)

In the words of T. Berry Brazelton, of Harvard University: "During these all important bridge years between childhood and adulthood, kids really do need something constructive to do, and they also still need to have their activities supervised. Most of all, they need to know that their parents care about them, are involved in their lives, and have their best interests at heart."

References and Related Books

Ranks of Latch Key Kids Approach 7 Million (October 31, 2000) Christian Science Monitor,

Frances Smardo Dowd (1991) Latchkey Children in the Library and Community: Issues, Strategies and Programs, Phoenix, Oryx Press

Feldman, S. (1990) The Library and the Latchkey, ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources

Who's Minding the Children? (December 1988) Harvard Education Letter

James Comer, M.D., quoted in Latchkey Kids (March 1994) Parents Magazine

Great Transitions, Preparing Adolescents for a New Century (1994) The Carnegie Corporation of New York

AboutOurKids Related Articles

A View From the Middle: Life Through the Eyes of Middle Childhood 

About the Author

Frances Kemper Alston is Director of Dependent Care Consultants, a child and elder care counseling, information and referral agency that provides services to the NYU community. She is also author of Caring for Other People's Children.

About the NYU Child Study Center

The New York University Child Study Center is dedicated to increasing the awareness of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders and improving the research necessary to advance the prevention, identification, and treatment of these disorders on a national scale. The Center offers expert psychiatric services for children, adolescents, young adults, and families with emphasis on early diagnosis and intervention. The Center's mission is to bridge the gap between science and practice, integrating the finest research with patient care and state-of-the-art training utilizing the resources of the New York University School of Medicine. The Child Study Center was founded in 1997 and established as the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry within the NYU School of Medicine in 2006. For more information, please call us at (212) 263-6622 or visit us at www.AboutOurKids.org.