Ross D.Parke was born in Canada and educated at the university of Toronto (BA;MA) and at the university of waterloo (PHD).He has taught Child psychology at various universities since 1965 including the university of Wisconsin ,University of Illinois and UC,Riverside. He has studied and written about fathers and families throughout his career. His most recent book is Future Families :Diverse forms, Rich possibilities (2013)which challenges our concept of the ideal family as the traditional two parent married family with biological children. In this book ,Parke argues for appreciating the wide array of family forms in our own and other cultures including single families ,stepparent families ,cohabitating families ,same gender and new reproductive technology created families.All can be nurturing and stimulating environments for children and social policy changes to better support a range of family forms are outlined in the book. Parke has been editor of several journals (Developmental Psychology ;Journal of Family Psychology ) and is past president of the Society for Research in Child Development. He has received several awards for his contributions to scientific research on children's development from The American Psychological Association and the Society for Research in Child Development. Perhaps his major credential as a child development expert is that he has seven children and six grandchildren. He retired as Distinguished Professor of Psychology ,emeritus from UC,Riverside in 2008.He enjoys trips to Vancouver Island,Canada ,ocean cruises ,kayaking and walks on the beach.He also writes stories for his grandchildren.