Jeanne-#ENDParentalAlienation #SaveTheChildren

A father missing a child support payment can trigger the machinery of the state. But a mother interfering with the father's relationship with the kids? Well that's when suddenly everyone discovers nuance. #men #menneedtobeheard #doublestandards

DIVORCE ENDS A MARRIAGE. IT SHOULDN'T END A FATHERHOOD. When two parents divorce, something strange usually happens to the way we talk about the father. Yesterday, he was Dad. ·      He lived with his children. ·      Put them to bed. ·      Helped with homework. ·      Made breakfast. ·      Drove them to practice. He knew which kid hated peas and which one couldn't possibly sleep without that disgusting stuffed animal they've owned since birth. Then the marriage ends and suddenly we're discussing how much “visitation” Dad should receive. I've always thought that word was revealing. ·      You visit a patient in the hospital. ·      You visit relatives at Christmas. ·      You visit Yellowstone. You don't visit your own children. You parent them. Obviously, there are situations involving abuse, neglect, addiction or genuine danger where restrictions are necessary but those are few and far between not the presumed default that is often the case in family court. Which is exactly why absent something proven… not alleged but PROVEN that makes a parent unfit… We should be starting with the assumption that children deserve both parents actively involved in their lives? Not one parent and a visitor. Not one parent and an every-other-weekend guest. But two parents. The fact is divorce already changes a child's world. Their home changes. Their routines change. Holidays change. Finances change. Sometimes schools change. Why would we unnecessarily add: “You also don't get to see Dad very much anymore.” And fathers aren't interchangeable. A child doesn't simply need financial support from Dad. They need Dad. ·      His time. ·      His guidance. ·      His discipline. ·      His terrible jokes. ·      His traditions. ·      His presence in the stands. ·      His voice when life goes sideways. ·      His annoying habit of asking whether you've checked the oil. Yes money matters but presence matters more… FAR MORE! Family law should never be about giving mothers what they want anymore than it should be about giving fathers what they want either. No what it should be about is protecting a child's relationship with both fit parents. Something we’ve failed to do for eons now. Because when a marriage ends, a man's role as a husband may be over. But his role as a father isn't. #MenNeedToBeHeard #FathersRights #SharedParenting #FamilyCourt #Fatherhood #DadsMatter #MensIssues