Children of divorce – poor children?
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A divorce can be hell for children, especially when the pain of separation is compounded by custody battles. Whether custody will have to be shared between divorced parents in the future will be decided by the parliament in Bern this year. Is a solution that is fair to parents also in the best interests of the children?
The National Council has decided that separated or divorced parents will share custody of their children in the future. It is thus following the recommendation of the Federal Council and reflecting societal trends. But what will happen to those who turn the custody issue into a proxy war? Will they be appeased by the new regulation, which will be debated by the Council of States later this year? Or will joint custody foster further conflict because the feuding parents will now have to make all important decisions for their children together? And – how will all of this affect the well-being of the children?
Mona Vetsch invites people with authentic experiences to her "club" round.
Panelists
- Cheryl von Arx, child of divorce, author of a high school thesis on children of divorce
- Miriam Rosenthal, psychologist, mediator
- Reto Wehrli, lawyer and former member of the National Council, submitted a motion for joint parental custody in 2005
- Remo Largo, pediatrician, co-author of "Happy Children of Divorce"
- Oliver Hunziker, President of Responsible Parenting Fathers and Mothers (VeV)
Positions of the guests
- Cheryl von Arx: "As a 10-year-old, I simply accepted my parents' separation. It didn't really affect me until years later. The divorce shaped me, in a positive way too."
- Miriam Rosenthal-Rabner: "The rights of mothers and fathers dominate the political discussion, while the rights of the child are often neglected. Despite divorce, the child wants to be able to maintain a relationship with both parents. The child's world should become larger, not smaller, after a separation of the parents."
- Reto Wehrli: "Why is joint custody the norm? Children usually want contact with both parents, and this also prevents them from being involved or exploited in parental conflicts in the event of separation and divorce."
- Remo Largo: "The well-being of the child is a parental duty. This also applies in the case of separation. We don't need to talk about the rights of parents, but about their duties."
- Oliver Hunziker: "Separation often overwhelms both fathers and mothers. Divorce proceedings that focus on winners and losers rather than cooperation exacerbate the conflict. Joint custody as the norm would strengthen the position of fathers and thus ensure a more balanced starting point."
- Anna Hausherr: "Fathers and mothers should consider what 'co-parenting' means when starting a family, not just when the custody debate begins."