Child Development

tion coaches’’ rather than being dismissive, disap-
proving, or laissez-faire.

While Ginott’s influence is evident in works by
Gottman and also by his students Adele Faber and
Elaine Mazlish, his greatest contribution and continu-
ing legacy may be teaching the communication skills
that help parents relate to their children in a caring
and understanding way without diminishing parental
authority.

Bibliography
Gottman, John M. Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child: The Heart
of Parenting. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996.
Orgel, Arthur R. ‘‘Haim Ginott’s Approach to Parent Education.’’
In M. J. Fine ed., Handbook on Parent Education. New York: Ac-
ademic Press, 1980.

Publications by Ginott
Teacher and Child. New York: Macmillan, 1972.
Between Parent and Teenager. New York: Macmillan, 1969.
Between Parent and Child. New York: Macmillan, 1965.

H. Wallace Goddard

Alice Ginott

GRANDPARENTS

A grandparent is the parent of a parent who tradition-

ally has served as a comforting presence in a child’s

life. In contemporary society children’s relationships

with grandparents vary greatly depending on the sta-

bility of a child’s nuclear family, physical distance, the

frequency and type of contact, and the degree of emo-

tional attachment. In some cases the ties are strictly

symbolic. At the other end of the spectrum are grand-

parents who are highly significant to the emotional or

financial well-being of a child. The number of chil-

dren in the United States with grandparents as pri-

mary caregivers is on the rise, and this increase is

attributed to factors such as increasing drug use, teen-

age pregnancy, and divorce among parents. Grand-

mothers are more likely to play a central role in child

rearing in African-American families than in any

other ethnic group. Due to an increase in life expec-

tancy in the United States, older children and young

adults are more likely to have a living grandparent

than in past generations.

See also: GENERATION GAP; PARENT-CHILD

RELATIONSHIPS

Bibliography

Hagestad, G. ‘‘Continuity and Connectedness.’’ In Vern L. Bengs-

ton and Joan F. Roberston eds., Grandparenthood. Beverly

Hills, CA: Sage, 1985.

Kornhaber, Arthur. Contemporary Grandparenting. Thousand Oaks,

CA: Sage, 1996.

Marianne Scholl

GROWTH RATE

Infancy is a time of rapid growth. Generally, children

double their birth weight by five months of age, triple

it by twelve months, and quadruple it by twenty-four

months. During the toddler years growth stabilizes by

around five years, and children grow in height faster

than in weight. Steady growth continues from seven

to ten years of age. Gains in the thickness of fat tissue

are greater in girls during this time because girls tend

to reach puberty before boys. Adolescence and the

onset of puberty bring another rapid growth spurt. In

girls puberty typically occurs between eleven and

fourteen years of age. In boys the growth spurt may

begin at age twelve or thirteen, peak at fourteen, and

end at age eighteen or nineteen. Generally, growth in

boys is more rapid and lasts longer, and more muscle

mass is gained. Growth potential is strongly influ-

enced by genetics and through maintenance of prop-

er health and nutrition.

See also: DEVELOPMENTAL NORMS; MATURATION;

MILESTONES OF DEVELOPMENT

168 GRANDPARENTS