If we believe a new report published by the Family and Parenting Institute (FPI), today’s common structure of a happy family may be on its way out. The report focuses on families in the UK, but the outlined trend certainly applies to Americans as well.

There is a new study that suggests that being lonely is like having a bad, contagious cold. It will spread among people and eventually push them to the edge of their social networks.
The simple finding that the feeling of being lonely will isolate people may not be so surprising, but the discovery that loneliness can be transmitted before relationships are severed, resulting in a chain reaction that will isolate people that were previously connected to each other.

Sometimes, it does not take much to drive you over the edge and let your anger overtake what you are really trying to do. We tend to feel terrible in such a situation, but perhaps it makes you feel better that scientists have released new findings on common origins of anger. And yes, having children in a household is said to be a contributor to angry behavior. Do you agree?

The results released by the University of Toronto is based on a survey of more than 1000 Americans aged 18 and older. Project lead Scott Schieman will be publishing basic social patterns of anger in a book entitled International Handbook of Anger, scheduled for a January 2010 launch, but offers a few notes on his findings now.

A national parent teacher association has found that parents are happier parents if they find ways to reduce their levels of stress. That applies to married parents, but even more so to single parents, where it is critical that you can recover and find some time for yourself.

A new study published today highlights an increasing concern that our children are watching too much TV. And if Dimitri Christakis, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Research Institute is correct, children in home daycare may in fact be exposed to more than twice the TV time than those who visit daycare centers.

A few days left to Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Time to think about Christmas and checking your bank account how far it will go. It is also a time to reflect how your year was, what went well and what did not. For many single parents, the holiday season can be a rough time, balancing the fact that you will not see your children on days you used to and figuring out ways to cope with the pressure of buying Christmas presents. Here are nine tips to help you readjust and reduce stress.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued half a dozen critical safety recalls relating to children since the beginning of this month. Here is our current update which includes Adventure playsets, Century 21 sweatshirts, Three Sisters baby hammocks, Easton Sports bicycles, McLaren strollers and MacPherson’s art easels.

So here we are again kids. Another day, another moment of single parenthood. How great it is to be a single parent. Like many of you, I have my kids 50% of the time. When I have them on my days, we have a blast. We play ball, I get to be a daddy taxi to all their events and school activities. We read, play cards and watch movies. Then I get to recharge my battery.

I get my kids 50% of the time, so the other 50% I get to focus on me! How great for me and for those of you who do the 50/50 split…how great for you. This is where it gets hard for some of us. What do we do when we don’t have our kids? Well, here is a list!

Book Review – You get a lot of advice during your divorce. Some you should follow and some you better leave alone. The best advice may not come from your family, close friends, counselors and lawyers. It may come from someone emotionally disconnected who, however, can relate to your situation. Michael Jeffries wants to be that distant friend and offers support with his own experience of extreme parental alienation. If scientific books about alienation do not speak to you, this one may.

There is a common perception in this country that divorcing dads will lose their children in custody battles simply by default. However, a report published by Working Mothers magazine published today states that the times may be changing. Dads apparently are increasingly taking over primary child care duties, which puts the in a much better position to get full custody of their children.

“The shifting custody landscape is alarming to working moms, many of whom say they work primarily to provide a better life for their children,” said Working Mother Editor-in-Chief Suzanne Riss. “Women are surprised to learn that time spent in the office is increasingly being viewed by the courts as evidence that they’re less involved in their child’s day-to-day care. It’s important that working mothers understand the changes in custody rulings.”

Thanksgiving marks the official beginning of the holiday season. Although usually less fraught with anxiety than Christmas, if it is the first “big holiday” since your estrangement from your spouse, you may be dreading the day. It also may be your first holiday without your children.

Going through a divorce can give you the perfect “excuse” to break with tradition and forge your own way of celebrating. Spending the holiday home by yourself watching videos and eating Chinese take-out (yes, they are open on Thanksgiving) may be just what you need to do!

SingleDadLife has an inspirational article on the relationship between teens and their dads. Especially in single parent environments, the role of the father may appear to be much more complex and difficult to fulfill. Author Ben Murphy has some food for thought for moms and dads.

“As the teenage years progress, there are times that your child will open up and share things with you, and times that they won’t – even if you have a great relationship,” Murphy writes. “Perhaps it’s helpful to understand why teens need their fathers, and what you can do to deepen that relationship.