Shared parenting

Below, are a number of articles, reports and publications around the subject of shared parenting.

Social Science and Parenting Plans for Young Children: A Consensus Report.  Richard A. Warshak (2014)

Two central issues addressed in this article are the extent to which young children’s time should

be spent predominantly in the care of the same parent or divided more evenly between both

parents, and whether children under the age of 4 should sleep in the same home every night or

spend overnights in both parents’ homes. A broad consensus of accomplished researchers and

practitioners agree that, in normal circumstances, the evidence supports shared residential arrangements for children under 4 years of age whose parents live apart from each other. Because of the well-documented vulnerability of father-child relationships among never-married and divorced parents, the studies that identify overnights as a protective factor associated with increased father commitment to child rearing and reduced incidence of father drop-out, and the absence of studies that demonstrate any net risk of overnights, policymakers and decision makers should recognize that depriving young children of overnights with their fathers could compromise the quality of the developing father-child relationships. Sufficient evidence does not exist to support postponing the introduction of regular and frequent involvement, including overnights, of both parents with their babies and toddlers. The theoretical and practical considerations favoring overnights for most young children are more compelling than concerns that overnights might jeopardize children’s development.

Shared Parenting After Divorce: A Review of Shared Residential Parenting Research. Linda Nielsen (2011)

One of the most complex and compelling issues confronting policymakers, parents, and the family court system is what type of parenting plan is most beneficial for children after their parents’ divorce. How much time should children live with each parent? An increasing number of children are living with each parent at least 35% of the time in shared residential parenting families: How are these children and their parents faring? In what ways, if any, do divorced parents who share the residential parenting differ from parents whose children live almost exclusively with their mother? How stable are shared residential parenting plans? By reviewing the existing studies on shared parenting families, these questions are addressed.

Is it just a matter of time? How relationships between children and their separated parents differ by care-time arrangements. Jennifer Renda, Australian Institute of Family Studies.

There has been increased emphasis in recent years on the importance of children in separated families spending substantial amounts of time with both parents. However, there has also been considerable debate about the role that time spent with parents plays in relation to child socialemotional wellbeing. This chapter explores whether children who spend relatively large amounts of time with both parents have better parent–child relationships than those who spend most time with one parent and little, if any, time with the other. Factors that may influence the association between care time and parent–child relationships—such as parental involvement in decision-making relating to children’s long-term welfare—are also considered.