The easiest custody solution in Connecticut may not necessarily be the best one as far as the children are concerned. Parents have traditionally alternated weeks between their homes in a 50-50 split. Now, experts are beginning to advise that this is not the most advantageous solution for the children from an emotional perspective and parents should be considering a different type of schedule.
There are two possible negative impacts on children from this type of schedule. The first is that the children can experience separation anxiety when faced with the prospect of being away for a parent for a period as long as a week. This is even more pronounced for a young child. The second possible effect is that the children can grow detached from the parent that they do not see.
In addition, this type of schedule can also be difficult for a parent to make happen depending on their job. A parent will need a certain degree of flexibility from their employer in order to juggle their job responsibility and their co-parenting. This may be easier to execute when there is more frequent rotation of the children between the parents’ homes. Experts are now recommending that the children switch homes every 3-4 days while still maintaining an even split between the parents.
It may take some getting used to for both parents to embrace this child custody agreement as they may think that alternating weeks is the easiest and most convenient way to effectuate 50-50 custody. A family law attorney may explain the benefit of this sort of arrangement to their client and devise possible solutions that could put it into being. He or she might negotiate with the other parent’s attorney in order to come up with something that works for the children that both parents can embrace.
