When parents get divorced, children often feel the effects of this even more than parents. One parent may move out, but children are usually the ones who go back and forth to maintain a relationship with both. What makes this even more difficult is when some states do not properly recognize and support shared parenting options.
The keyword here is “options.” Shared parenting is not appropriate or beneficial for all families. The children may not have a strong relationship with the non-custodial parent and resent forcing one. There are also instances of abuse that courts need to account for.
New York among the only two states to score an “F”
CBS New York reports that the Empire State and Rhode Island were the only two to score an “F” when it comes to recognizing shared parenting. The grade depended on the legislations states had in place to support or encourage parents who wanted to continue to co-parent on equal or close-to-equal parenting time schedules.
Many states did not do much better
It may seem like New York and Rhode Island are an anomaly among a sea of other states uplifting shared parenting, but this notion is false. U.S. News said a third of states earned a D+ or worse in the study.
The news agency also adds that New York has introduced more laws to address shared parenting than almost any other state since 2014. Unfortunately, none of these laws have yet passed.
Several studies have shown that children benefit from equal parenting time when there is no violent conflict between parents. However, some experts have also pointed out that when parents live together, most do not spend equal time with their children, so it can lead to a forced relationship with mixed results.