Examined differences in several developmental indices of competence among 102 low-income, inner-city, predominantly African American children with non-organic failure to thrive (NOFTT) and a comparison group of 67 children with adequate growth matched on age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status. Parents were categorized into one of three groups (nurturant, authoritarian, and neglecting) based on observations during feeding. Parents of children with NOFTT were less nurturant and more neglecting than parents of comparison children. Associations between parenting style and children's social-cognitive development were similar across groups. Children of nurturant parents consistently demonstrated better social-cognitive development. Results support the importance of considering heterogeneity among high-risk families and the need to examine the relationships linking parenting style and child development. Copyright 1994 Plenum Publishing Corporation.