The study provides evidence of a broad range of difference in child-rearing practices among 47 Chicanas, living in a midwestern city of approximately 250,000, during a structured teaching task with their kindergarten-aged children. Maternal behaviors were observed/measured during two 5-minute observations of a mother teaching her child to make a replica of a Tinkertoy robot and an airplane. The predominant patterns of child-rearing practices observed were authoritative (49%) and authoritarian (47%). The authoritative patterns of child-rearing practices used were inquiry, directives, praise, and physical affection. The order of the most frequent behavior observed in the authoritarian mothers was directive, modeling, visual cues, and positive physical control. Permissive mothers used praise, inquiry, physical affection, visual cues, respectively. The authoritative style of parenting is associated with competitive and individualistic middle-class Anglo-American values which are considered antagonistic to communal/cooperative values of Mexican Americans. Being exposed to non-formal means of parent education through the media or community resources, being three or more generations removed from Mexico, being fluent in English, and being residents in predominantly Anglo neighborhoods may explain the authoritative responses of study participants. (NEC)