Children at higher risk in nontraditional homes
Abusive-boyfriend syndrome part of broader trend, experts worry
Sun., Nov. 18, 2007

NEW YORK - Six-year-old Oscar Jimenez Jr. was beaten to death in California, then buried under fertilizer and cement. Two-year-old Devon Shackleford was drowned in an Arizona swimming pool. Jayden Cangro, also 2, died after being thrown across a room in Utah.

In each case, as in many others every year, the alleged or convicted perpetrator had been the boyfriend of the child's mother — men thrust into father-like roles which they tragically failed to embrace.

Every family is different. Some single mothers bring men into their lives who lovingly help raise children when the biological father is gone for good. the rest