About a decade ago, while David and his wife were in theprocess of getting a divorce, she unexpectedly died of heart-related problems.Overnight, David was faced with perhaps the biggest challenge of his life:Raising his 12-year-old daughter, Leslee, on his own.

In this era of "alternadads," fatherhood isn't alwayswhat it used to be. Not only are there more single dads like David than everbefore, there are so many divorced dads, older dads, gay dads, and stepdadsthat Norman Rockwell would have to adjust his depictions of American life if hewere working at his easel today.

In fact, "alternative" parenting may actually betoday's mainstream. Only a minority -- 38%, to be exact -- of children born inthe last three years of the 20th century will reach the age of 18 having livedmost of their lives with both of their biological parents.

"About 15 years ago, we began to see courts awarding moremen custody of their children in divorce actions," says Patricia A.Farrell, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and author of How to Be YourOwn Therapist. "That turned the tide, and it's now more acceptable forsingle men and gay men, for example, to raise children without wives."

In a Family Way

David soon found that untraditional fathering can work just aswell as the familiar "Leave it to Beaver"-style family life, althoughit is brimming with challenges. "It's tougher being a single dad than asingle mom," he says. "Society looks at single motherhood as a naturalstate. But when it looks at a single father, it says, 'The child belongs withthe mother.'"

Like many single dads, David took his role as a do-it-all dadseriously. He quit his job in the insurance industry and became a work-at-homefather -- currently as a developer of Internet sites, including one of his owncalled Fatherworld.com. "Initially, I had tried to maintain a regular workschedule in an office," he says, "but I was constantly running home tocook meals or go to school functions. So I made a conscious decision to work athome."

Although he concedes that single parenthood is more difficultthan a two-parent household, he credits his successful childrearing to keepingthe lines of communication open with his daughter. "But she also alwaysunderstood that the parent has the final decision after issues are talkedout," he says.

Chips Off the Old Block

Although our culture tends to think of mothers as betternurturers than dads, a University of Arizona study concluded that the depth ofthe love that men feel for their children is no less than women have for theiroffspring. And when problems occur with children, fathers may be the missinglink.

Kyle Pruett, MD, clinical professor of psychiatry at YaleMedical School and the Yale Child Study Center, says that fathers are "thesingle greatest untapped resource" in the lives of America's children. Theearlier that fathers become involved in their youngsters' lives, the better, hesays, noting that infants are "prewired" for attachment to bothparents.