BDN Interviews Milardo About Family Relations
The Bangor Daily News spoke with Robert Milardo, a professor of family relations at the University of Maine, for the article “Glenburn family upset after 13-year-old girl, older sister turned away from father-daughter dance.” Milardo said father-daughter and mother-son dances are “wonderful ideas in principle” because they recognize the important roles parents play in children’s lives, but many children in the U.S. don’t have those relationships. “The demographic reality of families today is that they are more diverse than they were in the past,” he said, adding that the dances can be “hurtful” to children in nontraditional families. Milardo says organizations that host such events should provide alternate options, such as “surrogate dads,” to ensure all students feel included.