Opinion ID: 1878886
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The age, health and sex of the child

Text: ¶ 14. Although this Court has weakened the tender years doctrine in recent years, [2] there is still a presumption that a mother is generally better suited to raise a young child. Sobieske v. Preslar, 755 So.2d 410, 413 (Miss.2000). Chancellor Watts began his analysis of the case with the statement that the child was barely three years old at the time the trial ended. He pointed out that the tender years doctrine had been weakened and found Zach to be a healthy male child, with no physical or mental impairments who could be cared for equally well by both parties. The chancellor did not explicitly say that this factor favored one party over another. This factor favors Beth because the legal presumption, although weakened, still favors the mother to raise a very small child.