Overriding Class functions and variables

From reading the manual, it is my understanding that one cannot explicitly override parent class functions and/or properties. I found this article stating, "You can override any function but it is an implicit override...any function that is overridden in a child is never called in the parent, so if you have funct() on both, only child will be called." http://www.phpbuilder.com/forum/archives/2/2000/12/2/115715 In my case i am trying to override a variable. I have a property Username for both the parent and the child. I am wondering if there is a way to differenciate between parent->Username and child->Username. Thanks -Jared