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Women Losing Custody Battles More Often
There is a common perception in this country that divorcing dads will lose their children in custody battles simply by default. However, a report published by Working Mother magazine published today states that the times may be changing. Single dads apparently are increasingly taking over primary child care duties, which puts the in a much better position to get full custody of their children.
“The shifting custody landscape is alarming to working moms, many of whom say they work primarily to provide a better life for their children,” said Working Mother Editor-in-Chief Suzanne Riss. “Women are surprised to learn that time spent in the office is increasingly being viewed by the courts as evidence that they’re less involved in their child’s day-to-day care. It’s important that working mothers understand the changes in custody rulings.”
From the perspective of a dad who wants to be much more involved in the lives of his children, this situation may not be too surprising, as spending time at work, at least onsite, is treated by courts as a disadvantage in the majority of custody disputes. In fact, what Working Mother found may be just a sign of a disappearing gender bias that is commonly believed to still be present in family courts.
The publication found that there are now 2.2 million fathers who have primary physical custody of their children. More than half of all dads who are seeking primary custody are successful. The number of fathers awarded custody of their children has doubled over the past decade. “Rulings favoring dads often stem from a belief that career women are less devoted to their kids,” the magazine states. “On the contrary, women frequently pile their career commitments on top of the hours they spend caring for their children.”
Reading over the press release sent to us by Working Mother, I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about the results.
Of course, the survey focused on working mothers and a scenario in which they could lose a custody case. However, we at Single Parent Gossip believe that a gap between a divorced father and mother does not exactly help a child. In an ideal world, this writer believes that shared custody is the best solution for a child in marriages that are amicably dissolved.
Unfortunately, many divorces are fueled by at least some anger, but even then we should be able to figure out which parent is better suited to take care of a child should assume primary custody, no matter whether that parent is male or female. And, of course, in some cases that parent may be a dad.
It is critical that divorcing parents understand that children and custody cannot be “won”, that child custody should not be a fight and that the prospect of child custody payments coming in every month will not guarantee the love of your child. In way to many cases, pursued child custody is driven by the wrong goals.
Working Mother says that many moms still have misconceptions of how custody cases will work out. 66% of respondents believe a working mother is more likely to get custody than a stay-at-home dad, 74% said mothers enjoy preferential treatment in custody disputes and 78% thought being out of work is a disadvantage in a custody case.
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