‘90s FAMILY : With the Children’s Best Interest at Heart

With 19 children among the casualties in last month’s bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the Child Care Action Campaign (CCAC) has established a fund “to help solve the many problems that have arisen as a result of the destruction of the child-care center, including support for re-establishment of the center and other programs that will ensure that children and families have access to safe, good quality child care.”

CCAC, based at 330 7th Ave., New York, N.Y. 10001, is coordinating this effort with the Oklahoma Assn. for the Education of Young Children.

CCAC President Richard D. Stolley explained: “In the aftermath of the tragedy, there are those who have suggested that on-site child care is a dangerous trend. It is, in fact, a trend we should encourage. On-site employer-supported child-care centers are generally among the highest quality in the nation. . . .

“Safety and security are issues parents must consider in any child-care arrangement, even at home,” Stolley continued. “If we strive to make our workplaces safer and our government offices more secure, then we will have taken steps to protect our children.”

Who Was the ‘Real’ Theodor Geisel?

While it is possible that there is an American parent, somewhere, who has not fed his or her child a literary diet of green eggs and ham, and while there may be a father somewhere who has not contemplated the cosmic consequences of hopping on pop, these prospects seem unlikely. On the other hand, who really knows very much about Theodor Geisel, the “doctor” who prescribed such outlandish juvenile medicine, who advocated--among other radical notions--that children, not grown-ups, be allowed to run the metaphorical zoo?

In the new book, “Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel” (Random House, 1995), Judith and Neil Morgan confirm the facts that Geisel not only had no children, but often claimed to be terrified of them. Bons mots leaped from his pen, yet the author struggled with perpetual self-doubt.

Was Geisel a genius, as his publisher, Bennet Cerf, insisted? Or, as Geisel himself maintained, was he merely lucky? The Morgans, friends of Geisel in the latter half of his life, address such questions in the first authorized biography of the author of 47 volumes of nonsensical charm.

For Parents of ‘Difficult’ Kids

Parents who have anguished over their children’s quirks of temperament--only to have teachers or others lump them under the generic and vague category of “sensitive”--may be edified by Dr. Stanley I. Greenspan’s new book “The Challenging Child: How To Understand, Raise and Enjoy Your ‘Difficult’ Child” (Addison-Wesley, 1995).

Greenspan, an eminent child psychiatrist and professor at the George Washington University Medical School, identifies five basic childhood personality types, stemming from inborn physical characteristics. His advice is optimistic, reassuring parents that they do not simply have to live with their child’s fixed temperament, but--by adjusting their own reactions--they can help the child turn differences into assets.

The book is co-written by Jacqueline Salmon, a reporter at the Washington Post.

Workplaces Becoming More Family-Friendly

More U.S. companies are offering flexible work options and time-saving services for employees, a new survey from Work/Family Directions in Boston has shown. The study by the independent consulting firm revealed an increase in work/life programs from 1992 to 1994.

Among key findings:

* Written policies for part-time options rose to 74% in 1994 from 51% in 1992.

* Flextime in the same two-year period was up to 57%, from 48%.

* Job sharing jumped from 24% to 44%.

* Telecommuting grew from 23% to 41%.

* Child care remained a growing consideration. Companies offering near-site centers increased from 25% to 35%. On-site centers rose from 14% to 21%.

* Compiled from Times staff and wire reports.