Readers do not need to plough through very much of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina to find one of the writer’s most profound observations on the human condition. It opens the novel: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

More than half of parents must pursue child maintenance payments through an "adversarial" court system, while 42% of primary carers are raising children without a financial contribution from the other parent.

Parents are being forced into conversations their children are not ready for by posters associated with the upcoming referendum on the Eighth Amendment, an online survey has found.

Catch up on all this morning's headlines...

Why is there a picture of a baby on that sign? What’s abortion? Trying to answer these questions can be a nightmare for any parent. Geraldine Kelly, parenting expert with registered charity, One Family, has come up with some helpful age appropriate tips to talk with your child about this most awkward of subjects

No mention of child protection in budget statements a concern

Here are the main thins Noel Baker thinks the Government should address in the upcoming Budget

Concern over “catastrophic” changes to lone-parent benefits has seen a 50% rise in calls to a helpline, a support group has revealed.

The lack of suitable facilities for supervised child access visits means children and their mothers are still subjected to physical and verbal abuse, according to a new study.

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton has been urged to hold back on cutting the main support payment to lone parents amid warnings that it could push many people into poverty.

Unlike fairytale stepmothers, their real-life equivalents tend to be more harassed than hazardous, writes Áilín Quinlan.

Fears that divorce would lead to the end of family life in Ireland have proven unfounded, according to One Family, the organisation that supports people parenting alone, sharing parenting, and separating.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been accused of arrogance for insisting he is "very much" worth the €3,564 a week he gets from taxpayers.

The terms of reference for the new investigation into mother and baby homes received a broad welcome — but also criticism over its exclusion of Magdalene Laundries and adoptions involving state hospitals.

One Family says it is getting an increased number of calls from parents who are struggling financially.

SHE had waved goodbye to nappies and sleepless nights. She thought the menopause would be next. But she’s in her 40s and pregnant. It’s unplanned.

The Government was accused of adding to the pain of 9,000 struggling one-parent families by cutting a state benefit payment.

Children are being forced to stay in “unsafe” contact with parents suspected of child abuse and domestic violence because there is no system for family courts to adequately assess the concerns.

One in 10 maintenance payment cases reviewed by the Department of Social Protection’s specialised unit involved a liable parent who could either not be traced or was living outside the country.

Children do not fare any worse in life if their parents are unmarried — their outcomes are much more influenced by their mother’s educational and employment background.

Disputes between estranged spouses frequently turn into a “war over children”, inflicting “terrible damage” on them, Justice Minister Alan Shatter has said.

ONE FAMILY (formerly Cherish) celebrates its 40th anniversary this week.

A group representing lone parents is warning that those most in need must not experience any cuts to child benefit.

I prefer working in radio to TV.

A new service for children, whose parents are separated and who cannot agree on arrangements for the child, has been launched in Dublin.

Single parents struggling to hold down a job and look after their children have been told that support payments for their children will be cut by €30 per child.

A group representing lone parents has said protest marches are likely to continue in opposition to Budget measures which come into effect from today.

MOTHER-OF-FOUR Glynis Curtis has had her annual benefits cut by almost the Taoiseach’s weekly wage.

A free day of fun for families is on offer at the Iveagh Gardens in Dublin today.

PARENTS who fail to keep up maintenance payments will face jail under new legal proposals unveiled yesterday, but the opposition claimed many maintenance recipients may still end up out of pocket.

A SUPPORT organisation for one-parent families has blamed the recession for a large increase in calls to its helpline from separating couples last year.

UNMARRIED fathers are in danger of being excluded from their children’s lives due to outdated family law practices which are “unsustainable” as they do not reflect modern Irish society.

The support group for lone parents, One Family, is calling for dozens of child contact centres to be established in Ireland.

SEPARATED parents are putting themselves at risk of further abuse from an ex-partner by being forced to supervise access or “hand over” children for contact with the other parent.

STEPHANIE supervises contact between her ex-partner and six-year-old daughter.

NO matter how dire Ireland’s economic situation has become, taking money from children should always be a last resort, five groups representing parents and children insisted yesterday.

The Government is being asked to make quality parenting and childcare supports available for lone parents.

SINGLE-PARENT families should be afforded the same respect and value as two-parent families under the constitution, the One Family group has urged.

It is unacceptable for the rights of parents and children to be determined by whether or not they live in a traditional married family unit, a lone parents’ support group said today.

DESPITE the unprecedented wealth of the Celtic Tiger phenomenon — now a dim and distant memory as industry declines and thousands of jobs are lost — the stark reality is that poverty remains a dark blot on the conscience of society.

A LOT more could have been done in the Budget to make a real difference to the lives of Ireland’s poorest children and pensioners, campaign groups claimed last night.

The Government has been accused of failing to ensure that single-parent families are treated the same as married couples.

CAMPAIGNERS for lone-parent families want to see 30% increases in fuel allowances following whopping hikes in gas and electricity bills.

A leading support group for single-parent families is seeking budgetary measures to support families that experience breakdown.

The first payments under a new child benefit scheme announced in the last Budget are being made available to parents from today.

AROUND 100,000 women concerned about a crisis pregnancy in the past three years have used a State-funded mobile phone text service to get help, it was revealed yesterday.

THE lone parent allowance is to be scrapped in favour of a less discriminatory payment for low-income families.

THE number of single parent families seeking help from the One Family support group increased by over 100% last year.