"I know they tried to keep their pain from me / They could not see what it was for / 
But now I'm sleeping fine / Sometimes the truth is like a second chance /
I am the daughter of a great romance / And they are the children of the war
."  
~Dar Williams

 

The Fringe Parenting Project is a collection of writings by professional and amateur authors who have experienced first hand what I have termed "fringe parenting."

Fringe parenting is any parenting experience that lies outside of the stereotypical nuclear family: white, middle-class, heterosexual, mentally and physically healthy, two-parent, monogamous, problem-free. Of course, this fictional family doesn't really exist, but there are families which, in one way or another, live outside of this socially - acceptable definition, and those families struggle every day with issues that many of us can't even comprehend.

The Fringe Parenting Project is an attempt to pull together a collection of memories, advice, cautions, anecdotes, and celebrations of living and parenting on the fringe. 

If you are the head of a "fringe-parenting" family, or grew up in one, and would like to share your experiences, contact me at heidi@heidisandler.com.


Non-Traditional Families
   
    Single Parenting
            Co-Parenting with a former partner
            One-parent families
            Parenting after the loss of a partner
    The Extended Family
    The Blended Family
    Parenting Half-siblings
    Raising Twins / Multiples
    Foster Parenting / Adoption 

Health Issues
   
Clinical Depression
    Manic Depressive Illness / Bipolar Disorder
    Anxiety Disorders
            Panic Disorders
            Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
            OCD
    Terminal Illness
    Chronic Illness / Disability
            Parenting from a Wheelchair
    Alcoholism / Addiction
     
Lifestyle

 
  Same-Sex Parenting
    Parenting in Poverty
    The Bi-Racial Family
    Parenting Across Religions
    Full-Time Parenting versus The Two-Income Family
    Teen Parenting
   
Polyamorous Parenting
   

Projects

Home