Hanson says that Dudley House's dining hall staff members have become "surrogate parents" to his two sons, Mark and Nathaniel.

But food service employees says they are not doing anything beyond the call of duty. "We just make sure they eat," says dining hall worker Helen M. Kelley.

Whether bad or good, all agree that growing up at Harvard does not foster traditional family values.

"My mom doesn't come home and say, `Hi sweetie, how was your day,' but it's no big deal because they're always somewhere around," Laszlo Nagy says.

And Laura A. Hastings '82, now back with her parents in North House, says she had to get used to "students calling and ringing on the doorbell at all hours of the day and night."

Some masters says they must make a special effort to strengthen families ties. They say that eating together as a family is very important, although they only have the time to do that two or three times a week. Masters says they have to balance their time between the students they care about and their families.

"It's very important to have family time together, and we've always though it absurd to try to eat in the dining hall as a family," says Judith F. Dowling, co-master of Leverett House. She says that although she loves being part of the students' lives, she has left it up to her kids to decide whether to be part of house life.

Having a family in a dormitory situation affects not only the family, but also undergraduates.

"I see these kids running around the dining hall, and I think to myself, `What are they, geniuses?'" says Scott D. Davis '92.

And, complains Michael S. Kramer '92, "They eat all the ice cream."

But having kids around kids does have its advantages.

"Since Harvard tends not to be family-oriented in other situations, I think it's humanizing for students to see masters with their children," says Master Nagy.

"It's definitely good to have a family like that living in the house and reminding us of reality," says Currier House resident Christina Dragomirescu '90 says.

And the kids say dining hall food is not always what they have in mind for dinner.

"If the food is bad I run upstairs and ask my mom to cook me something good," Antonia Nagy says. And her brother adds, "I mean, how many chickwiches can you eat?"