Spending Time With Both Parents After a Divorce Is Essential

On behalf of Scaringi Law posted in Family Law on Thursday, February 9, 2017.

The makeup of the American family has changed over the decades, and more Pennsylvania parents ending their marriages are looking at splitting time with the kids more evenly. A recent study done by a university out west backs up this shift in parenting responsibilities after a divorce. Just because a child is an infant or toddler, that does not negate the benefits of generous overnights with both parents.

Even though the study involved only 116 college students whose parents separated before they were 3 years old, researchers were able to draw certain conclusions. The students who spent nights with their fathers when they were toddlers or infants enjoy good relationships with both parents now that they are 18 to 20 years old. It did not matter whether the overnights were part of an agreement created by the parents or ordered by the court.

The status of the relationship between the parents during the first five years after the divorce also had no impact on the data. The relationship between the mother and her child did not suffer, and the fathers benefited in their relationships with the child. The head of the Arizona State University study indicated that fathers learned earlier how to parent. Furthermore, father and child learned about each other earlier in life and built better relationships that continued into adulthood.

Nearly all Pennsylvania parents want what is best for their children and want them to grow up happy and healthy. This is just the latest research study to confirm that this requires time with both parents. When parents work together during a divorce to create a parenting plan that allows each of them as much time with the child as possible, everyone benefits.

Source: pantagraph.com, "Sleepovers With Dad Can Be a Win-Win After Divorce", Feb. 3, 2017