As a New Jersey parent, your children’s health, safety and welfare likely represent three of your biggest concerns. But if you and your spouse plan to divorce, this is where your kids’ best interests really should come into play.
Unlike the days when mothers almost always got custody of their children, especially the young ones, after a divorce, today joint custody has become the preferred custody arrangement of courts, judges, attorneys, child psychologists and parents themselves across the nation.
Childhood benefits
As reported by StatNews, a recent study proved what everyone felt they already knew: children whose divorced parents opt for joint custody benefit in numerous ways, including the following:
- Their relationships with both of their parents remain strong and loving.
- Their relationships with their extended families likewise remain strong and loving.
- They exhibit less emotional trauma during and after the divorce.
- Their grades and other academic achievements do not nosedive.
- They maintain their current positive peer relationships and establish new ones.
- They tend to not rely on drugs or alcohol to solve their problems.
Your benefits
Something else that you will surely appreciate about joint custody is that you and your now former spouse likewise benefit from it. How? Consider the following:
- You and (s)he will achieve and maintain a much better post-divorce relationship than divorced parents who spend most of their time fighting each other about the kids.
- You and (s)he will follow your agreed-upon parenting time schedule better than divorced parents who use parenting time to irritate or distress each other.
- You and (s)he will have the opportunity to watch your children grow up into happy adults, secure in the knowledge that both of you love and value them.
It goes without saying that joint custody requires a commitment from both you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse that whatever your personal differences may be, you will both always put the best interests of your children first.
This is general educational information and not intended to provide legal advice.
