Children need both parents to help them grow into emotionally and socially healthy adults

Estranged Adult Relationships Affect A Child’s Emotional Growth

Divorced or separated parents often use children as pawns for revenge

Following a divorce or separation adults often engage in ‘get even’ tactics against each other, using children as objects of manipulation and revenge. Little thought is given to the effect of their behavior on the child’s emotions or psychological development. Feelings of betrayal and anger spill over, and striking back is all the parents think about. It has become commonplace to hear or read about the murder or murder/suicide of a custodial parent and/or the children when rational thought is replaced with raw emotion.

A major complaint of non-custodial parents is that the other parent, or grandparents refuse to let them see the children. They leave home before children are due to be picked up or won’t answer the door. Others move to a new address or to a different city or state without notifying anyone. Non-custodial parents are then deprived of seeing their children grow into adulthood. ”More often than not, it is fathers who are kept from the children since in most states custody is usually given to the mother unless the courts deem a mother to be unfit.