There is no basis in the research for the belief implicit in your resolution that automatically kicking fathers out of their children's lives upon a divorce filing will make things better for the children. If only it were that easy. In California, this happened as recently as 1996. It was a well-considered rejection, led by two mothers with experience as family law attorneys. As a recent Heritage Foundation study shows, children living with a mother and a cohabiting boyfriend are 33 times more likely to suffer child abuse than children living with both of their natural parents.
Sharing is a virtue, and a difficult value to teach our children.
Let us not shrink from the serious responsibilities we face as parents, and you face as a lawmaker, to help our children come to embrace high challenges and strong values through our proper nurturing, guidance, love and support. Parents we learn to share custody of children model this value for their children, to the great benefit to all concerned. Parents unwilling to share, communicate, and cooperate deserve a lower status, but only when they have proved themselves obstructive. Honorable Co-authors of H. R. Con. This letter published with permission of the author.