February 21, 1996
Contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, (615) 322-2706 or Jan Rosemergy, 322-8240

"Dolls or Trucks and Other Gender Issues" title of POPS program

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Should parents encourage their sons to play soccer and their daughters to dance? What are appropriate roles for girls and boys -- from play and expectations about learning to future career and family choices? Parents who work at raising children free of gender limits may feel undermined by traditional messages children learn elsewhere.

"Dolls or Trucks and Other Gender Issues" is the title of the fifth in a series of Pursuit of Parenting Success (POPS) events sponsored by Friends of the Susan Gray School for Children. The free presentation will be Tuesday, March 12, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in Room 241 of the MRL Building.

Developmental psychologists Thomas Catron and Tedra Walden will discuss gender issues for parents to consider during the free program for the Nashville community. As husband and wife and the parents of a daughter and a son, Catron and Walden bring practical experience as well as professional expertise to the topic.

Catron is assistant professor of psychiatry, associate director of Vanderbilt's Community Mental Health Center and director of outpatient services in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Walden is associate professor of psychology. Both are investigators at the John F. Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, which conducts research on behavioral, intellectual and brain development.

The Friends of Susan Gray School is a volunteer organization that supports the school for young children whose future development is at risk because of disability, developmental delays, abuse or neglect. The Susan Gray School is part of the Kennedy Center at Peabody College.

On site-child care is available by reservation by calling 322-8240. Refreshments will be provided for children as well as parents. The Vanderbilt Bookstore will provide a display of books on parenting and gender issues.

-VU-
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