The anecdotes in this booklet describe coping strategies for single parents. The stories illustrate the many resources that exist to help men and women adjust to the loss of a mate and the responsibility of caring for children. Parents are advised to request assistance from relatives, friends, churches, and public service agencies. A plan will help parents focus on actions to alleviate concerns about money, health care, and recreation. Parents also should address the questions that children have about the missing parent in a considerate way.
Due to manifold societal pressures, the role of the father in relation to his children has eroded in recent times. Guidelines which intend to lead to a revitalization of the father's potential for determining the directions of child development, restoring the father's sense of identity in the family unit, and assuming profound familial responsibilities are given. Fathering skills are developed to extend conventional father-family interactions as well as special family situations, which include divorced, adoptive, older, handicapped, widowed, unwed, black, and stepfathers. Without a change of…