e: support@dadsunltd.org.uk         t: 01233 680150         Mon-Fri 09:00-16:00

Why not 50:50 for child arrangements as a starting point?

In an article in Copse Magazine, Adam – our Lead Mentor and author of the Co-Parenting Success Programme asks whether a simple change in the starting point of negotiations could make a massive difference in the equality of family law? You can read more in the article: Child Arrangements: Why not 50:50 shared care for your child?

He questions whether if we started family law proceedings with the questions “tell me why not 50:50 shared care” then we could quickly understand both parties reasons for or against.

This is not the same as saying that Child Arrangement Orders should always be 50:50 – that’s not his argument and he clearly states that different arrangements are appropriate for different families, but that we should start from the middle and work out instead of starting from one end and trying to drag fairness towards an arbitrary middle point – ending up somewhere still near the bottom.

Can we simplify the legal system and make it more accessible to men if we remove the inherent societal bias towards mothers being the primary carers?

Try it – ask yourselves why not 50:50 shared care? It makes a massive change from alternate weekends in McDonalds’ car park being the default.

“As a society, we’ve recently noticed that male suicide is high, that relationship breakdown is one of the main contributing factors, and that debt is another main contributing factor. Now we need to join the dots and remember that family breakdown and legal fees are one of the main causes of debt.”

Child Arrangements: Why not 50:50 shared care for your child?, Adam Colthorpe, Copse Magazine

Adam references the Co-Parenting Success Programme – a workshop and education programme that we are helping to run for both parents (attending separately) that will help to diffuse any conflict long before it gets the chance to take hold. If you would like to register to attend one of the free co-parenting workshops in Ashford (funded by Kent County Council).

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