Mom and dad aren't the only adults who can have a positive impact on children.

“Is it true that Paul is coming to our house this evening?” My son’s eyes were sparkling with delight. Paul is a single friend of the family, who lives alone and doesn’t have children. He regularly visits our family to join us for dinner and enriches us with his presence.

Melanie Notkin, author of Otherhood, a book about being a single childless woman, highlights just how important these relationships are in our family life. “These generous men and women contribute to the development of their nieces and nephews, their friends’ children, and other children throughout the world,” she writes.

So how exactly can these relationships be helpful? Here are some of the key roles single adults can play in a family, particularly in helping to raise children.

Read more at Aleteia.org