Divorces can be hard on a child. They often feel lost, confused, nervous, guilty, and angry. Some children miss their mother more, others their father. Since change is inevitable in such cases, you can minimize the effects by opting for equal shared parenting or simply Joint Child Custody.

What Are the Benefits and Challenges of Equal Shared Parenting?

Parenting even without strenuous circumstances is challenging. It has its moments of reward, but more often, you are presented with challenges. And when something big like divorce takes place in its midst, it becomes even tougher because now you have to look after your best interests too!

Nevertheless, joint custody has its fair share of pros and cons; Let’s discuss this in detail.

Benefits of Joint Custody

Following are some of the benefits of joint custody:

●      Shared expenses

With joint custody, you can share expenses with your spouse, hence, making it easier on yourself, all the while giving your child the best. Especially if you have more than one child, then shared expenses can help you a lot in the long run.

●      Self-care

After divorce, both spouses require self-care, space, and some time to rejuvenate. They need to focus upon themselves as well. With joint custody, you can get your me-time. You can take part in those courses you’ve wanted for some time now; you can date again without worrying about kids alone with a sitter. You can simply relax and focus on yourself for a while and plan. Having kids away can help you appreciate them more, and you can change yourself accordingly.

●      Avoid Parental Alienation

In some cases, the spouses hate each other so much that they bring kids into their aggressive feelings. In other words, parental alienation takes place where your child develops animosity towards you. With joint custody, you can avoid such pathetic attempts of character assassinations and work for the best interests of your child.

●      New Routine

Change in any form is quite hard for adults, but it is even harder for children. Events like divorce impact the child a lot, but with co-parenting, a child can settle into the new routine and not suffer much from the ordeal. They get to spend time with both parents and eventually understand their decision. Also, studies indicate children tend to recover quickly from divorce-related trauma when their custody lies with both the parents.

Disadvantages of Joint Custody

Joint custody can be hard on the children because they’ll have to constantly move between homes and parents. Especially if the parent in question is far from their original place. This can make it difficult for them to bear with. If the parents don’t get along at all, then this can deeply affect their relationship with kids as there would be no room available for compromise. Sometimes, the alleged spouse is not mentally well. They can have an alcohol problem, domestic abuse issues, drug addiction, or manipulative, and bad nature. In such cases, joint custody causes more harm than good.

Conclusion

When it comes to divorce, every parent should strive to work on the grounds best for their children. Joint custody usually brings out the best of both worlds but can be equally harmful as well. If you’re going through such circumstances, then hire an attorney and discuss your possible choices with them so that you can make a decision based on your and your children’s interests.