Child Custody Rights

By Staff Writer

Child custody rights can become a battleground. It's easy to see why--parents' deepest emotions come out concerning their child. It's easy for parents to continue disputes based on their emotions, rather than to focus on the realities of their child's life.

Emotions Can Cloud Child Custody Rights
For example, a parent, especially a father, may fear that he may be squeezed out of the life of his child and be sidelined, with no active participation in his child's day-to-day world. Both spouses may be feeling guilt over how the divorce will affect their child. There may be intense fear that a husband or wife's place will be taken by a new mate, and the absent parent will be forgotten by the children.

Another worry is over the direction that the child's life will take. One parent may fear that the other parent will influence the child towards a certain profession, sport, religion, or ethical stance that they can't support. They may fear that their ex will want to move out of the state, to a geographical region remote from their present locale.

Divorce mediation or collaborative law can help you and your spouse check your emotions at the door and concentrate on the vital issues of your child's well-being. Child custody rights are not meant to punish one parent or the other; they are meant to give the child a chance to live his life with the greatest stability and opportunity, and to count on the most support possible from both parents. Family divorce law intends to create workable family units in your post-divorce life. You can aid the process by separating your emotions from the necessities of your child's life.