The needs of the children, ages, keeping stability in children’s life and willingness of each parent to help the children have a good relationship with the other parent are a few of the factors judges consider when deciding custody of a child . According to Warshak, “Children who spend at least 35 percent time with each parent, rather than live with one and visit the other, have better relationships with their fathers and mothers and do better academically, socially, and psychologically… they get better grades; are less likely to smoke, get drunk, and use drugs; and are less susceptible to anxiety, depression, and stress-related illnesses”.
Giving party 1 sole decision- making was a good verdict because, like you said: “Party 2 has demonstrated
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The idea of a child spending three consecutive days with each parent may sound good for some people. Truth is, this child does not know what to expect. Spending three days with each parent means two different schedules; let’s say bedtime at 8:30 with mom and at 10:00 with dad. As I said at the beginning, I am in a similar situation with my son. My custody dispute lasted over one year, and just like in this case: “One of the parents is not willing to encourage the relationship between the child and the other parent”. I can assure you that is not healthy for a young child having two different schedules. For example, my son will call me dad instead of mom every time he comes back from his dad’s house. It takes him a couple hours to settle down and accept that he is now at mom’s. The bedtime, waking up or taking him to daycare is a complete nightmare; I cannot do much other than give him some time and space to adjust. I had to accept that he does things differently at dad’s. The transition from going to one home to another. What they can and cannot do at each house. In addition to two parents who are not getting along, is overwhelming for young children. Structure and routine teach kids how to control themselves and their environments in a positive way. If both parents were willing to put the needs of the child first, then joint custody would be ideal, but that is not this case