Grown children leaving home is a normal human transition and one to which most parents eventually adjust.
But what happens when children are removed from their parents’ homes too soon, before either parent or child is ready – when the child is 7 instead of 17? This is the sad reality for many parents following a divorce.
Children also suffer when they’re prevented from seeing one of their parents frequently. Federal statistics show that children raised by single parents are significantly more likely to drop out of school, wind up in prison, abuse alcohol and drugs, develop psychological problems or commit suicide.
Shared parenting – a flexible arrangement in which children spend as close to equal time as possible with each parent after a divorce, if both parents are fit – decreases parental conflict and domestic violence while increasing child support payments, as well as voluntary payments for college.