Children Need Their Dads

Positive Solutions

When divorce occurs, current law makes one parent the sole custodian, over 90% of the time it is the mother. The father merely has "visitation privileges." He loses the legal right to parent his child and therefore the child looses frequent parental contact and involvement from his or her father.

However, all competent studies and data point to joint physical custody and shared parenting as being the best solutions for children: the highest child support compliance, highest parental involvement, and the happiest children are shown to come from these two-parent solutions.

Children of divorce must be protected by revising current laws. Solid data proves that the Best Interest of the Child is served when there is "frequent and continuing contact with both parents."

There are other areas of domestic law that need to be addressed if we are to serve the best interest of our children:

• Create low conflict divorce with statewide adoption of divorce mediation.

• Standardize divorce education classes that specifically address parental behavior that is detrimental to children.

• Replace inflammatory legal language such as defendant, complaint, and visitation.

• Enforce access violations aggressively with swift, punitive measures.

• Maximize financial child support by including the incomes of both parents.

• Prosecute those who file false allegations of abuse or domestic violence.

• Strengthen "move away" laws to ensure children can maintain relationships with both parents and grandparents.

The Best Parent is BOTH parents

DAD of Tennessee Inc.
PO Box 24083
Nashville, TN 37202-4083
(615) 726 - DADS