If you live in Florida and are adjusting to a new joint-custody arrangement, you may be struggling with spending less time with your child than you typically do. You may, too, have questions about whether your child will struggle because of shuffling between your home and that of your ex. At Fried and Fried, P.A., we recognize that children whose parents share custody often benefit from such arrangements, and we have helped many clients navigate their way through custody and related family law matters.
According to Time, children who spend time living with both of their parents fare better in many areas than kids who live exclusively with one parent or the other. Research involving nearly 150,000 12 to 15-year-old students revealed that children who spent time living with both parents, as opposed to only one, were less likely to struggle with a broad range of psychosomatic health problems. For example, kids who lived with both parents were substantially less likely to report issues including stomachaches, concentration issues, sleeping troubles and feelings of sadness, among others.
Kids who spend time living in the homes of both parents also typically have access to more resources than those who live with only one parent, with “resources” referring to material goods, familial relationships and other social contacts. Having broader access to resources may make children less likely to feel stressed or vulnerable.
The research about children who live with both parents also suggested that any possible additional stress that might come with shuffling between two homes is essentially negated by the child having regular, ideally daily, contact, with both parents. More about child custody arrangements is available on our web page.
