ABSTRACT
Much of this book has so far concentrated on lone parents. But, of course, there are also children in the lone parent family and this chapter considers the care and welfare of this group. The lone parent is not the only parent of their child/ren - in a sense this is obvious, but worth a reminder too. The non-resident parent may also be heavily involved in the care of the child/ren (widowhood excepted, of course). Other adults, both related and unrelated, may also play an important role here. This chapter addresses the role of non-resident parents (and others) in lone parent families. For widows there will be no non-resident parent; for most lone parents there will be only one non-resident parent, but for some lone parents there will be two (or more) non-resident parents of the dependent children. Non-resident parents may go on to have children of their own, in a new family, bringing with them new responsibilities and commitments.
