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SINGLE PARENTING: A Practical Resource Guide by Stephen L. Atlas

SINGLE PARENTING: A Practical Resource Guide

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Pub Date: May 10th, 1981
Publisher: Prentice-Hall

Yes, amid all this advice for single parents from single parents, there is something for almost everyone, whatever his or her situation--custodial, non-custodial, widowed, never-married, gay. But ""a practical resource guide"" it is not. Atlas, who has a joint custodial arrangement with his former wife, has mainly elicited from parents around the country word of how they deal with typical issues: schedules, rituals, values, discipline, conflicts between work and family. He provides little analysis of the replies, however, and strings together--without comment--one after another, often-conflicting example. Joyce ""generally puts her children's needs first""; Hazel ""has found that it is really difficult to give the kids all the time they would like""; for Jayne, ""My kids' well-being takes precedence over my own needs."" When Atlas does set out specific suggestions, they are positive and straightforward, but equally applicable to parents-with-partners: set goals and strive for them, don't feel you have to be perfect, look at the benefits to the children, keep communications open. Included along with the parents' testimony is a lengthy statement from the founder of the organization Parents Who Are Gay, which details the many issues affecting gay parents. An extensive annotated list of resources and readings is also supplied. Single parents may find some leads there, and take some comfort in reading about the troubles that others have too; but for actual guidance Robert S. Weiss' Going It Alone (1979) is the book to look to.