Although empirical studies have not consistently documented differences in mothering and fathering, differences in conceptualizations, opportunities for enactment, and meanings of mothering and fathering can be clearly demonstrated through family systems as well as feminist theories and qualitative research traditions. We argue that employing the same measures to assess fathering and mothering behaviors will document considerable differences in the involvement of mothers and fathers while masking differences in the roles, meanings, and processes associated with those behaviors. The employment of convergent behavioral measures can profitably occur in conjunction with efforts to identify theoretically rich areas where mothering and fathering are distinct in terms of processes and meanings; this will allow us to document essential differences noted in the lived experiences of family members.

To derive new insights into the growing number of multiethnic, immigrant, transnational families in the United States and abroad, we need to incorporate the concept of globalization into our analysis. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, an ever‐growing number of heterogeneous individuals are associating with each other and being exposed to new lifestyles, behaviors, and cultural values. This exposure is leading to increased heterogamous relationships and families. The fluidity, flow, and dynamism that characterizes contemporary social life is a critical aspect of understanding multiethnic, immigrant, transnational families. To conduct research and design policies that encourage the well‐being of families, we need to integrate into family scholarship a focus on economics, migration, and varied beliefs and values.

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Despite the proliferation of studies that specifically employ life course perspectives for contemporary families, an important omission, with only a few exceptions, has been critical inquiry into how race, ethnicity, cultural diversity, and global processes affect individual and family development. Furthermore, this perspective has been seriously underutilized for understanding the diversity of human experiences in global contexts. A focus on these issues should help move the study of families away from the inherent ethnocentric lens that undergirds so much of the discipline. The life course perspective, with its focus on the interplay of micro and macro factors, is a critical theoretical tool in expanding our understanding of context, vantage point, pluralism, and power relationships. New approaches to understanding and incorporating a life course perspective may spur fresh pathways for researchers and policy makers as they attempt to make sense of complex social phenomena.