Where are the parents?

While blog surfing, I came across an entry that referenced an article in the New York Times about a topic that I have brought up many times in my children's literature classes.  Why do so many books for children have absent parents?  In fact, in many, the parents are dismissed, killed (Harry Potter, Unfortunate Events) or leave (Fablehaven, Great Gilly Hopkins, Higher Power of Lucky) at the beginning of the book leaving the main character(s) on their own to solve problems.   Is it really representing to kids what happens in reality?  Where are the books about the "good parent?"  Does it represent the majority in childrens literature?  As I'm writing this, my son is watching Max and Ruby which is written by Rosemary Wells and the kids on this have a Grandma that lives nearby and no parents around their house at all.

Read and tell me what you think!

 “The Parent Problem in Young Adult Lit,”