Parenting: categories for anticipatory guidance

A descriptive cross-sectional study of 174 parents of well children was conducted to elicit parental perceptions of anticipatory guidance needs. An interest in anticipatory guidance was expressed by 69% of the parents. Specific topics identified by parents were coded into three categories of anticipatory guidance for parenting: general parenting, child age-specific, and parental self-care. General parenting included the most topics, the majority of which suggested that social and behavioral issues are major concerns for parents.