Father's Demand Equal Parental Rights With Their Children

Divorce is a fact of life in today’s culture. Every year 1.25 million marriages end in divorce and two-thirds of those are initiated by women. This will leave over 1 million children under 18 years old to cope with the new experience of joint custody. Divorce is no longer the end of a relationship….it’s a restructuring of a continuing relationship.

Restructure of the family

Divorcees learn quickly that leaving your partner doesn’t mean that you stop dealing with the former spouse as the child’s mother or father. The assumption has been that once the property has been divided, the children allocated to a household that each parent would then be autonomous. This thinking evolved out of the divorce court of family law in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Divorce has changed over the last 40 years. Adults have realized that marriage is dissoluble but parenthood is not. Fatherhood has become the major battle in family court. Fathers that have experienced separation from their children began to rethink their priorities. They are now demanding greater involvement in their children’s lives. Fathers no longer have to wonder what is happening with their children as his involvement is not hindered by the court or the mother.

Joint custody

The illusion of personal autonomy after divorce is just that. People can make fresh starts with a new partner but you can’t disconnect from the former relationship with children involved. Parenting is an enduring connection that outlasts the severance of the adult relationship. Both parents must constantly examine their actions to assure the needs and interests of the child are addressed first.

As the guidelines to your joint custody are established it will be important to remember that you child didn’t ask to be divorced from either parent. Each parent must make a reasonable effort to see that visitation takes place with a minimum of tension. If both parents work to remain flexible and discuss parenting concerns that arise then the discord can be minimal.

Joint custody works to alleviate the inequalities of the traditional custodial routine. This arrangement of shared custody demands a great deal from the former married partners. They have to move past the pain of a failed marriage and make cooperative parenting work.