The Mediation and Family Counseling Group recently created a petition in support of shared parenting. The petition states:

This bill is extremely important because if gives judges and family court magistrates the tools to be able to push shared custody instead of sole custody to one parent. This keeps both parents involved with the children instead of just one.

The American Coalition for Fathers and Children stated:

"Children thrive with the active involvement of both parents. Children and parents should be encouraged to spend substantial time with each other regardless of the parents' present marital status. The undersigned recognize that absent issues of abuse, neglect or abandonment, social and government policy must be structured in such a way as to promote and maximize the opportunity of all parents to contribute to the social, emotional, intellectual, physical, moral and spiritual development of their children."

As I've shared before, I'm in favor of equal parenting in situations where both parents are equipped, willing, and able to care for their children. How about you? What is your position on the issue?

Shared parenting refers to a collaborative arrangement in child custody or divorce determinations in which the care of the children is equal or more than substantially shared between the biological parents.

Shared parenting arrangements are viewed as encouraging children to know both parents are actively involved and share responsibility in their upbringing.

Shared parenting has also been referred to as "collaborative parenting", "balanced parenting" or "equal shared parenting", and can also apply after the separation of adoptive or other non-biological parents. "Equally shared parenting" refers more commonly to childraising, breadwinning, housework and recreation time that are equally shared between two parents in an intact family.

Imagine a life without having to choose between a meaningful career and enough time with your children. Envision that while you are at work, your wonderful children are safe, happy, healthy and growing in the care of someone who loves them just as much as you do. At home, you spend many hours with them each week to connect with and nurture them. There is plenty of time for yourself and your favorite hobbies as well, and you never have to do more than half of the housework. The burden of earning the family's income no longer falls on just one of you.

We call this equally shared parenting, and it is practiced by a growing number of divorced parents. It stands in sharp contrast to the traditional marriage divorce where one person usually gets sole custody of the children. Equally shared parenting is more than an extension of feminism; it is more than simply what is fair. Equally sharing the care of your children with your ex-spouse is about balancing your life, balancing your family's collective life and sharing equally in the joys of raising a family.



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To learn more, or to sign the petition yourself, visit The Mediation and Family Counseling web site at http://www.mediationandcounseling.com