ABSTRACT
Across decades of parenting research, much of it captured in this very Handbook, one enduring message that can be derived is that parenting is a complex and challenging experience. Without question, it can be joyous, uplifting, and fulfilling in ways few other human experiences can match. But it can also be demanding, stressful, and frustrating as parents sometimes struggle with the developmental and behavioral twists and turns that often accompany the many exigencies of childrearing. Whether under conditions of high risk or the most facilitative developmental contexts available, the stresses of parenting are apparent, and they are important features of developmental models that seek to explicate the complexity that is parenting.
