Child Rights in Custody Battles

A child has certain rights in a custody battle, but fighting parents often tend to forget that custody is about the child, not themselves. Custody battles happen because one parent might be vindictive. One may seek custody just to spite the other parent; a parent might not want to pay child support; or one may believe the other has poor parenting skills, including a parent who might be a drinker or a parent who might abuse drugs (prescription or non-prescription).

Types

A child has several rights in a custody battle, including the right to have a loving relationship with both parents. The child has the right to uninterrupted communication with each parent. One parent is not supposed to be able to interject while a child is on the phone with the other parent, for instance. The child also has the right to not be subjected to the parents fighting over custody and other divorce issues. Most importantly, the child has a right to visit the alternate custodial parent without interference from the primary custodial parent.

Time Frame

A child's rights to certain time frames vary state by state and by the child's age. A 1-year-old child has all the same rights as a 16-year-old child, but because of the age, the younger child might spend a few hours on the weekend with the alternate custodial parent. As the child ages, he is allowed to spend more time, including overnights, with the alternate custodial parent. The time frames are not carved in stone. Each state's court has its own recommendations for age-appropriate visitation and communication, but parents may also create their own visitation schedule, allowing a very young child to spend overnights with the alternate custodial parent.

Significance

A child's rights in a custody battle are significant. If a child is not allowed frequent visitation and communication, or is allowed to see and hear the parents fighting, the child could possibly suffer from emotional and psychological stress. While a young child might seem unaffected by these things, such situations can have adverse effects as the child grows in a stressed environment.

Considerations

The rights a child has during custody battles force the parents to consider how the outcome of the custody battle will impact the child. The child's age and gender both factor into custody battles. If a child is exposed to constant parental fighting, she could grow up to believe that it is "normal" for parents to continually fight over every little thing, thus increasing the likelihood of continuing the chain of marriage and divorce.

Misconceptions

Many divorcing parents do not realize that providing nurturing care for the children is more important than their feelings for each other. Many think that the mother always gains custody. A custody battle often ensues when a father thinks he should have at least equal visitation time with the children, instead of "fair and reasonable" visitation. Fair and reasonable visitation is commonly outlined as every other weekend and rotating holidays. Fifty-fifty shared visitation is becoming more popular with the courts, though the parents still have to request it. This type of visitation allows the child to spend a set number of days with one parent, then an equal number of days with the other parent (common time frames are one or two weeks). This works well if the parents live close enough to each other.