Divorce serves as a difficult period in any family’s life, including and sometimes especially the children of the divorce.
Different custody options can potentially relieve some of the strain and stress that divorce itself causes. For example, joint custody proves beneficial for those it works for.
Joint custody benefits
The American Psychological Association discusses joint custody as a potential option. Joint custody involves both parents holding legal custody over the child, though physical custody still often gets split due to the parents not living in the same quarters anymore.
Joint custody allows for the equitable involvement of both parents in a child’s life, however. This creates more stability for the child by preserving many of the reliable aspects of life before the split, such as having two parents to turn to in situations of duress.
Some studies also show that children of joint custody have a lower rate of depression, anxiety and even trauma or stress disorders than their counterparts who experience sole custody. Experts speculate this happens due in part to the preservation of said stable dynamic.
Who does it fit? Who doesn’t it fit?
However, joint custody does not work for everyone. In some situations, it serves as a bigger benefit – or even a safety measure – to remove one parent from the life of a child. This will often happen in cases such as abuse allegations under investigation, or allegations of neglect.
Those who can opt into it should consider it as an option, though. It could help a child of divorce get through the roughest patches of the separation and move on with better coping mechanisms.
