With both men and women becoming independent and capable, relations are becoming rigid. This results in conflicts and has resulted in a spike in divorce cases. In some cases, disputes are resolved by communication, while in some, relationships fail. Divorce is messy, but they get worse when there are children involved. Kids have to go through a lot, including custody litigation and adjusting to new places.
Until the last century, full custody was common, which hurt children’s growth. However, now the times are changing, and in most cases, both parents are granted equal shared parenting. DLA Piper can help you with this.
What Is Equal Shared Parenting?
Equal shared parenting is an arrangement where both parents are granted equal time with the kids. Not just time, but both parents retain the right to make legal and medical decisions. Both the parents are involved in equal shared parenting and equally responsible for the child’s financial need, which renders the norm of child support.
Advantages Of Equal Shared Parenting
- Children tend to perform better in school, having both parents to support them in life.
- Allows both parents to have an impact on their children.
- Both parents working equally for their children promote a sense of equality in the children.
- Allows fathers to have a voice in their child’s life as most mothers used to get full custody.
- Takes the financial stress off of one parent.
Disadvantages Of Equal Shared Parenting
- In case parents fail to cooperate, it can put children under emotional stress and affect them negatively.
- It can complicate financial arrangements and perjure the basic needs of children.
- Conflicts of the parents may keep getting worse, and it can lead to parental alienation i.e., one parent trying to sabotage the child’s relationship with another parent.
- Continuously changing between both parents’ houses can be hard on children and remove the feeling of permanent residence from both houses.
- It does not take into consideration the fact that one parent can have a negative effect on children. For example, if a parent is a narcissist or abusive, they can degrade the condition of the already stressed child.
Equal shared parenting or 50/50 parenting works only when both parents have good intentions at heart. They need to be able to put their personal conflicts aside and cooperate for the betterment of the child.
Types Of Equal Shared Parenting
Weekly – This is the simplest and most adopted method of equal shared parenting. The child lives one week with one parent and the second week with another. This is also called the 7-7 schedule.
Biweekly – This suggests that the child spend two weeks with one parent and two with the other.
3-4-4-3 Schedule – When children are younger and can’t spend long without seeing another parent, this is the schedule parents opt for.
Conclusion
If parents are cooperative and understand the value of each other in a child’s life, equal shared parenting is very successful. It does not sabotage the growth of the child despite going through a rough phase of parents’ divorce. If both parents like it, this arrangement works.