‘Parenting plans’ to give separated fathers better access to children
UK Fathers are to be given better access rights to their children in the event of family break-ups, under new proposals from the Government.
New “parenting plans” for custody arrangements will be drawn up with the help of counsellors. The plans will assume that fathers should have reasonable access. Mothers could be ordered to attend counselling if they refuse to comply.
The proposals, contained in the Government’s Green Paper on parental separation, are being seen as an olive branch to fathers who believe the family courts system is biased against them. Although they do not go as far as assuming a strict 50/50 split in contact, as demanded by groups such as Fathers 4 Justice, the reforms would give fathers far better access rights than at present.
Lord Filkin, the Children and Families minister, said the reforms were designed to keep cases out of the courts and to encourage mothers to allow former partners access.
He told The Independent: “The obvious thing is that the courts are not the place forsorting out these disputes. It is about getting people to shift their behaviour and to accept that both parents play a part in bringing up their children. They may hate each other and think each other is a swine, but this is about the needs of the child, not the rights of the parent.”
The proposals have been welcomed by moderate fathers’ groups who believe the reforms will give them far better rights to access over their children.
Jack O’Sullivan, of the lobby group Fathers Direct, said: “Parenting plans offer a great opportunity for both parents to be properly involved and to have a say in the way their children are brought up.”
Lord Filkin said a typical plan for a five-year-old girl whose estranged parents lived in the same area could include custody arrangements where the non-resident parent saw her every other weekend, one evening during the week and shared holiday time
How patronising!
What’s the difference?
Only one solution, equal joint shared parenting, Is it that difficult to understand.
Comment by Jim Nicolle — Wed 1st December 2004 @ 9:47 am
Just as it takes a man and a woman to bring a child into the world, so it takes a Mother and a Father to raise a responsible adult.
Anything short of equal joint shared parenting is just not good enough. Children need both of their parents and more often than once-a-fortnight!
Wake up! Smell the coffee!
Next year is election year: Uncle David and Aunty Helen you need to show us a significant improvement in the welfare of parents and children of separated families! You need to put aside any personal agendas (Click here to read Ian Wishart’s article about our infamous leader’s personal agenda for social change and its real origins…) and start to put the welfare of the children first.
Remove the active interference by the State in the lives of children and parents of separated families [now]!
Give our children what they deserve: the best.
Comment by Mark Shipman — Mon 6th December 2004 @ 4:50 pm
Fathers are necessary in a family, the government seems to forget this. I wonder when the time will come when fathers and mothers are viewed equally by the law..
Comment by a father — Tue 31st January 2012 @ 4:37 pm
Mothers and fathers are viewed almost equally before NZ legislation, apart from details such as birth, abortion and breast feeding.
However, in secret familycaught rooms, there is much more money to be made from winding disputes up, instead of reconciliation and sharing, by setting up “winner takes all” to get parents to open up their wallets for the legal-workers.
The legislation covers all of NZ, except for caughtrooms???
The “judges” are the problem, not the solution. Just read through the history of Kay Skelton and her behaviour. The familycaught rewarded her for her irresponsible behaviour. They charged a lot of money from these two parents, but sacrificed the child, to do so. They only went against her, when her behaviour was sooo dangerous to her child, that it couldn’t be hidden from the public.
It seems that we must replace all of these “judges”, if we want to protect our children. MurrayBacon.
Comment by MurrayBacon — Wed 1st February 2012 @ 8:21 am
@ a father – No, the government understands and remembers very well that fathers are important to families. That’s why the government is trying to get rid of fathers. Fathers are the only thing standing in the way of the government (feminists) and absolute power and control.
Comment by Darryl X — Wed 1st February 2012 @ 8:33 am
I urge all NZ fathers to understand that like it or not your children are not yours.
These days they belong to the state, and you are but a short phone call away from understanding that in very brutal terms.
Meanwhile you pay taxes which are used to indoctrinate children in state schools with feminist ideology, sustain the very lucrative and corrupt divorce industry and spread state misandry through policy and propaganda which favors women over men.
In brief, you are a kind of modern day slave subject to living a kind of Jim Crow type existence encased by laws and social practices which require you get taxed but not represented, garnished but not given rights.
You can hide from that distracted by playing with consumer baubles, with sports and other relative trivia, but the fact remains as a parent you are essentially politically disenfranchised – effectively a political nobody. Only when you accept that can you turn your mind to how to change the situation. Until then you are living a life as less than fully human – a mere tool of the state.
Comment by Skeptic — Wed 1st February 2012 @ 12:31 pm
A Father (post #3) is a troll. Advertising American Father’s Day. Follow their hyperlinked psuedonum. Why else post a meaningless comment in a thread more than 7 years after the previous comment?
Comment by Not A Father — Thu 2nd February 2012 @ 5:03 pm
Poignant Reminder.
Kind Regards
Paul Catton
South Auckland Refuge For Men with Family
(09) 269 4411
Comment by Paul Catton — Thu 2nd February 2012 @ 8:49 pm
Thanks for the “troll alert”, Not A Father. Still, it was a great opportunity to remind everyone that our children are not ours or even their own but are property of the government.
Comment by Darryl X — Fri 3rd February 2012 @ 12:50 am
Dear Skeptic, you say,
“I urge all NZ fathers to understand that like it or not your children are not yours.”
This is a terrific open statement but you forget men don;t want full responsibility of their children every minute of the day.
“These days they belong to the state, and you are but a short phone call away from understanding that in very brutal terms.”
Fathers like the state caring for things they can;t care about.
“Meanwhile you pay taxes which are used to indoctrinate children in state schools with feminist ideology, sustain the very lucrative and corrupt divorce industry and spread state misandry through policy and propaganda which favors women over men”
***OK then. Fathers should be able to pick this up…. shouldn’t they….. on there care time? But what if they don’t see their boys and girls hating them?
In brief, you are a kind of modern day slave subject to living a kind of Jim Crow type existence encased by laws and social practices which require you get taxed but not represented, garnished but not given rights.
You can hide from that distracted by playing with consumer baubles, with sports and other relative trivia, but the fact remains as a parent you are essentially politically disenfranchised – effectively a political nobody. Only when you accept that can you turn your mind to how to change the situation. Until then you are living a life as less than fully human – a mere tool of the state.****
Most men will see your way. But it’s only because they don;t get their children.
Comment by Julie — Wed 8th February 2012 @ 4:25 pm
This site has lost it’s appeal by not giving commentors the chance to quote.
But then behind the scenes is a whole other agenda based on feminists destroying something I’d stand behind.
Comment by Julie — Wed 8th February 2012 @ 4:28 pm
In fact, this site has done me a favour. You men show me what men are about and I heal.i CAN’T thank you enough.
Comment by Julie — Wed 8th February 2012 @ 4:36 pm
“…but you forget men don;t want full responsibility of their children every minute of the day. ”
“…Fathers like the state caring for things they can;t care about. ”
What a load of patronising BS!!
Says who?
You are not even male, let alone a father. Please cite all the research you have to support such a ludicrious, inflamatory and grossly insulting statement on a men’s web site.
Bloody outrageous!
Do you make similar sweeping claims about Jews, Blacks, Moaris and women as well? Or is it just OK to make such statements about fathers?
How grossly insulting!!!
Comment by Vman — Wed 8th February 2012 @ 9:23 pm
Vman,
Yes grossly insulting indeed.
She just doesn’t think about what she’s saying and blurts out hurtful bigoted nonsense to get attention.
Sad thing is the more she does that the more a lot of folks want to avoid her. So it totally backfires.
Comment by Skeptic — Wed 8th February 2012 @ 9:58 pm