New Studies Show that Equal Parenting is not Harmful to Children…–

Not being able to get along, agree, or co-parent is the reason that many judges use for ordering one parent more time with the childthan the other. You do not have to settle for this anymore! It is now easier than ever to argue that you are entitled to and that yourchild deserves to have equal time with you!

If you are afraid that you are going to face this problem in court or your attorney is telling you that you need to explain why youthink you should have 50/50 parenting time with your child, you can refer them to some recent research conclusions published on November28, 2016 by William Fabricius (Link where you can get this study is below).

This research says thatmore time with your child strengthens the parent-child relationship,even when the parents are in conflict and cannot co-parent, and even when one parent did not agree to shared parenting.

The findings also support that the quantity of time is important to the quality of the parent-child relationship. This study debunks themyth that limiting the time for one parent is not harmful to the child and that the quality of time is more important than quantity.This study also debunks the attachment theory that children can only form one bond to one parent when they are an infant.

You can find this study done by William Fabricius here: "Should Infants and Toddlers Have Frequent Overnights with Fathers." 

Fabricius says that because there are benefits found with "shared parenting" that there should be a rebuttable presumptionfor shared parenting. It was found that "those with shared parenting time had the most well-adjusted children years later."

More overnight parenting time also leads to the development of better parenting.

A child spending equal amounts of time with each parent also serves as a protective measure against parental alienation. SeeDr. Warshak's website for more research, books, andsolutions on parental alienation.

A child's role in the development of attachment and security with both of their parents correlates with the amount of time each parenthas with that child.

These findings should be brought up to allay any ideas that your judge might have that equal parenting time is harmful.

Next make sure that your arsenal of arguments is ready to slide right back to the constitutional argument that opposing counsel mustprovide a kind of harm that the state is allowed to protect the child from (a constitutionally compliant compelling state interest), andthen must use the least restrictive solution when dividing the time between parents with the child. Least restrictive starts with anequal division of time. (You can find more information about yourfundamental parental rights and sampledeclaratory judgement motionsin our store tab above.)

Naturally, other factors can be introduced by the other side to dispute the equal time. For instance, the other parent might say thatyou live too far away to exercise equal time, or they might argue that you never exercised equal time in the marriage. See our onlinecourse, "Protecting Family Rights," our book, "NOT in The Child's Best Interest" for help on countering these objections and more.

Check back on this blog often for additional topics to help you navigate your divorce and child custody and find solutions attorneysmight not be offering you.*

Other sources you might be interested in reading:

Why infants should not have ‘overnights’ with their Dad