Supporting the Rights and Voice of Minors of Divorce and of never-married parents
Minors of Divorce and of never Married Parents need to have their voices weighted much more, especially when the issue of time with both parents is at stake. Court officials and court appointed psychologists should listen to the minors' voices much more and give their feelings and desires higher significance and value in the courts.
Minors should be able to give testimony in court and be able to go to hearings in which, their life, future and well-being is going to be dealt with. Their word should be regarded with greater significance and everyone should work for "the best interests of the child", keeping in high regard what the minor has to say. We have observed that even though everybody repeats the best interest of the child, in practice, most of the minors of divorce and of never married parents are very unhappy which is obviously not in the best interests of any child.
Under the circumstances that both parents are physically capable of raising and nurturing their children, and if the parents aren't dangerous, minors should have the right to see both parents as often as the minors wish.
Minors of Divorce and of never Married Parents need to have their voices weighted much more, especially when the issue of time with both parents is at stake. Court officials and court appointed psychologists should listen to the minors' voices much more and give their feelings and desires higher significance and value in the courts.
Minors should be able to give testimony in court and be able to go to hearings in which, their life, future and well-being is going to be dealt with. Their word should be regarded with greater significance and everyone should work for "the best interests of the child", keeping in high regard what the minor has to say. We have observed that even though everybody repeats the best interest of the child, in practice, most of the minors of divorce and of never married parents are very unhappy which is obviously not in the best interests of any child.
Under the circumstances that both parents are physically capable of raising and nurturing their children, and if the parents aren't dangerous, minors should have the right to see both parents as often as the minors wish.
Best of Luck
Alexandra and Pedro
My 14-year-old-son was removed from my custody when I moved out of county with my lawyer's advice but without a court order. He was put in the primary care of his father and I only see him every other weekend. My son has consistently stated his preference to live with me and is currently failing in school and has missed 23 days of school since 13 Nov. 07. He was not allowed to speak in court to tell of his preference. He is sad and angry and his father is currently undergoing his 3rd CPS investigation. The court took no notice of my son's preference and stated that I needed to be punished for my lack of respect for the law. So they took my child away from me.
Fully agree.
If judges could be, just for one moment, in the shoes of children of divorce....
The court system was not originally created to deal with the emotional issues of children and families. It does more harm than good.
Alexandra and Pedro: I commend you for your work and support your petition. As teens your voices sound louder! good job.
the current laws are obsolete because our legislators have failed to keep up with the changing trends of our society when women flooded the job markets which led to men being more needed at home with their children.
I was there as a child. Now I am an adult working for children of divorce. Better laws are on the way.
court professionals leave children in the war zone because that means that cash will keep flowing into their beloved system. Good job Alexandra and Pedro.
I agree with this. "In the best interests of the child" is a do-nothing lip service to try and placate people who are furious with by the legal industry. Minors have their own minds and are more than capable of using them. In the best interests of the child: what is that? It is obvious what this means and it can only be achieved by not tolerating warring parents using their children or adolescents in court and allowing the minor/s to speak for themselves. It should be a matter of enquiry that when minors speak out that they are listened to carefully and that their words are their own.
Judges today need to listen to children as they tell how they are being hurt by a divorce, and why they can't make up their minds on which parent they want to be with. In a violent relationship the child can observe and know that the violent parent isn't on his list! However if more courts would just listen to a child and see through their eyes what they experienced, maybe things could be very different for all involved!
MY 2 INNOCENT SON'S HAVE BEEN THERE, DONE IT AND WORN THE T-SHIRT, VICTIMIZED BY THIS AND THE TRAUMATIC CONSEQUENCES I HAVE SEEN IN BOTH MY BOYS. CHILDREN NEED A VOICE...A LOUD ONE IN THESE AND MANY OTHER SITUATIONS THAT ARISE WITH BREAK UPS, RIVER !!!!A MOM WHO KNOWS!!!!
the vast majority of studies on teen violence, teen addiction, and teen pregnancy overwhelmingly conclude: we need to listen more to kids. It seems that our policy makers, legislators and similar individuals are not doing their job!
children should be listened way more than these days.
you're most definitely right. teens & even young children should be able to be heard in court. I've experienced something similar but not exact. me being a teen myself, believe in alot of teenage rights.
