Making Divorce more Humane for Children

Presiding Judge Dorothy T. Beasley, of the Georgia Court of Appeals, wrote a very moving statement of a child's right to shared parenting:

Although the dispute is symbolized by a 'versus' which signifies two adverse parties at opposite poles of a line, there is in fact a third party whose interests and rights make of the line a triangle. That person, the child who is not an official party to the lawsuit but whose well-being is in the eye of the controversy, has a right to shared parenting when both are equally suited to provide it. Inherent in the express public policy is a recognition of the child's right to equal access and opportunity with both parents, the right to be guided and nurtured by both parents, the right to have major decisions made by the application of both parents' wisdom, judgement and experience. The child does not forfeit these rights when the parents divorce.

The frequency of shared parenting has steadily grown. It was almost unheard of before 1970, and it now accounts for more than one out of five divorces2. Does it always work - for every couple? No, not any more than any other solution to human problems is 100% perfect for all situations and all people. But, on the whole, studies show shared parenting to be work much better than the traditional divorce. Time and again, it has been demonstrated that children do better with both parents active in their lives after divorce (see the report of the U.S. Commission on Child and Family Welfare in the appendix).