Examined how sex of parent, parenting experience, and child’s gender influence parents’ reactions to risky and annoying behaviors of children. Ss were 15 sets of expectant parents and 16 sets of parents from each of 3 other family configurations. Mothers were 22-38 yrs old, and fathers were 23-45 yrs old. Ss viewed a 23-min videotape depicting a common activity for a 12-36 mo old child that could elicit parental intervention because of risk or annoyance. Each gender-ambiguous child on tape was identified as a boy to some Ss and as a girl to others. Ss were instructed to press buttons to indicate when they would respond and the types of response (physical or verbal) they would make. Analyses showed effects of parenting experience for latency and number of interventions. Generally, parents of 1 boy intervened most quickly, followed by parents of 2 children, parents of 1 girl, and expectant parents. The gender label manipulation showed effects only on the high-risk tapes. Mothers responded more than fathers in situations that were annoying. Mothers and fathers agreed when children were engaged in risky behaviors. The use of videoclips to study parent socialization may be a useful supplement to observations and self-report questionnaires.