April 25, 2015
On April 16, 2015, The Wall Street Journal story “Big Shift Pushed in Custody Disputes” revealed that nearly 20 states are considering shared parenting legislation and quoted Donald Hubin, PhD, of National Parents Organization’s Board of Directors.
“Some of the biggest battles over child custody are playing out not in courtrooms, but in statehouses.
Prompted partly by fathers concerned that men for too long have gotten short shrift in custody decisions, about 20 states are considering measures that would change the laws governing which parent gets legal and physical control of a child after a divorce or separation,” the story began.
The story looked to Hubin on shared parenting history. The story said, “Legal views on custody have swung considerably over the years. The “tender years” doctrine came into vogue early in the last century, said Donald Hubin, an emeritus professor of philosophy at Ohio State University who has written on parenting and parental rights. That doctrine stated a child should stay especially close to his or her mother during infancy and toddler years. About 50 years ago, that notion gave way to the idea that custody should be decided according to a child’s best interest.”