The stories within this book document how men and women-both straight and gay-have rearranged their lives to create harmonious kinship relationships and be successful parents after separation, thereby proving that divorce does not have to mean "unhappily ever after." Anchored in the author's personal experience, Wisdom for Separated Parents: Rearranging Around the Children to Keep Kinship Strong traces the long arc of family change through the actual words of men and women who have struggled through separation and co-parenting. This book provides stories from separated parents that share what they've learned from co-parenting and discovering new kinds of families, revealing insights on the process of untangling, rearranging, and "reinventing" straight and gay families. The extensive interviews in this book reach back as far as the 1950s and explain what it has meant to be separated for decades. These candid stories provide revelations on how to deal with the loss gracefully and minimize ill will, and recount the joys of having a bigger family and more kin connections. This book speaks to two different audiences: today's struggling parents, who will find valuable wisdom as they make crucial decisions about separation and divorce; and readers who have lived this history and will identify with the stories and gain insight and validation regarding their long-ago choices. Provides numerous insightful quotes derived from interviews with more than 50 parents Supplies a bibliography that covers topics such as post-separation parenting, stepfamilies, gay/lesbian parenting, transitions for adults, and the history of cultural and family change

Although Zack Taylor has become an alcoholic after asking his drug-addicted wife to leave the home, he has two delightful children, Sissy and Danny, who implement a search for their grandparents that Zack and Elaine had excluded from their lives. Zack is neglecting the children with gambling and alcohol consumption. After losing a tidy sum to Zack in a betting card game the loser, a drug cartel kingpin, abducts Zack eventually transferring him to a drug packaging factory in Belize where he's held prisoner. As Zack goes through alcohol withdrawal, he recognizes the foolishness of his path in life, and as he's exposed to the Christian faith of his fellow prisoner, he finds new hope in Jesus. Sissy and Danny reconnect with their grandparents who welcome them joyously while Zack and his new Christian friend break out of their factory prison and join Zack's younger brother, Evan, an engineer working in Belize. After several harrowing experiences Zack, Evan, and Evan's fiancee, Alice, make it back to the United States to rejoin their families. Soon after their return a successful effort is made to find Elaine. However, she is terminally ill with a drug-related infection. The families take Elaine home to give comfort care; eventually, Elaine declares her Faith. Can Zack and his children take this opportunity to rebuild their lives despite Zack's history of alcohol addiction and a destructive lifestyle by turning to and trusting in Jesus Christ?

Child care environments have received extensive research attention by those interested in understanding how participating in nonparental child care might influence the children's development and learning. Throughout the United States (US Census Bureau, 2011) and Europe (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2006) a large number of young children are cared for outside of the home by non-parental adults. Young children's nonparental care is commonly referred to as ""child care," and is provided to children whose ages range from birth to 12 years of age. The provision of child care services has become an increasingly important part of early childhood education. In fact, the United Nations Children's Fund (2019) states that a large majority of children worldwide spend at least some of their week in child care, such arrangements include center care, family child care, in-home child care, relative child care, and supplemental child care. Child care researchers have been conducting studies to understand how participating in nonparental child care might influence the children's development and learning outcomes. There are more than enough child care studies to make numerous major inferences. For example, research outcomes show that child care quality seems to be more influential than either the kind of child care or age of admission in determining the children's development and learning. The adults' child care affects the quality in child care. In the environment adults who are caring for the children have the opportunity to effectively assume both nurturing and instructional roles to help young children cultivate their social and cognitive abilities. The teachers' effectiveness is related to their individual characteristics, such as formal education, specialized training, and the classroom environment. However, the majority of the studies show that both family and quality of child care have the most significant effects on the children's development and learning. Therefore, the concept of child care has heavily influenced modern views. Researchers, scholars, and educators are beginning to understand the current foundations based on theoretical frameworks that contribute to the purposes of the child care in the United States and Europe. The contents of the child care volume reflect the major shifts in the views of these early childhood researchers, scholars, and educators in relation to research outcomes on child care, its historical roots, the role of child care in early childhood education, and its relationship to theory, research, and practice.