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Dads Today Divorce Series Part Two
Daddy's House: When Fathers Are Awarded Full Custody of Their Children By Carma Haley
In the past five years, the ratio of marriages ending in divorce has risen from two-in-five to three-in-five. Of the marriages that end in divorce, 88 percent involve at least one child, resulting in a custody battle. Traditionally, it was assumed that children whose parents were divorced lived primarily with their mother.
However, the number of fathers who are awarded full custody of their children has risen from 7.5 percent in 1995 to 15 percent today, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
A generation ago, parents who were experiencing marital trouble would stifle their feelings and remain married "for the sake of the children." This trend has changed tremendously. Another trend that has changed relates to parental custody of the children. More fathers are now fighting for full custody of their children when a divorce occurs.
Stell's experience with the domestic court may not be the common one, but is quickly gaining ground. With fathers requesting and fighting for custody rights, the domestic courts of the country are beginning to listen and go against the old standard.
According to Geoffrey Greif, associate dean at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, "Most fathers are awarded custody by mutual agreement or by the mother turning over custody of the children. It wasn't so much that there was a battle. In fact battles over children which result in fathers getting custody are much more rare than the mother just agreeing that the father should have custody of the child. Additionally, the children may pick the father, for whatever reason, so more and more dads are getting custody of their kids."
Want to see more?
- Ask Brian Newman ,founder of Dads and Divorce and member of the DadsToday expert panel, your questions about how divorce affects your kids.
- Read Part Three of our Dads and Divorce Series.
- Read Part One of our Dads and Divorce Series.
- DadsToday
- Chat with other divorced dads on the Divorced Dads discussion board.