The 24 hour rule

So what on earth is this?

This is a mechanism that I would like to recommend – It has saved me from doing something rash and stupid more times than I can remember.

Practically from the start my soon-to-be ex-wife was provoking me in e-mails and generally being antagonistic. I tried not to be the same but I am only human, and there is only so much goading that one can take without giving in kind. I am talking here about e-mail and telephone contact by the way. Not physical contact.

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Hansard – Parental Alienation

Full text of the debate yesterday in parliament about PAS. Mainly positive remarks, but no real movement on the side of the department of justice.

Quotable remarks from the debate:

Danzuck: Despite those shocking statistics, the United Kingdom lags behind many other countries across the world in addressing the issue. Parental alienation is not recognised in the lower courts and, although the higher courts acknowledge that parental alienation occurs, many family rights campaigners feel the courts do nothing about it. Although there have been small steps in the right direction, progress in the UK has been far too slow.

Fernades: Does he agree with Mr Justice Munby, as he then was—he is now president of the family division of the High Court and has judged many family cases involving contact disputes—that the cause of these problems is delay in the court system, the failure of the courts to challenge groundless allegations against non-resident fathers and the failure of the courts to get to grips with defiance of contact orders and child arrangement orders and to properly enforce against breach? Does he agree that that is the core of some of the problems?  (my emphasis)

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Parents who use children as a weapon in break-up ‘should be punished in court’

Very interesting story here about the first ever debate in the British parliament about Parental Alienation. Proposed by the independent (form. Labour) MP Simon Danczuk.  I hope he will continue to pursue this cause as well as he did with the child abuse/Cyril Smith scandal.

I will keep you posted as to the outcome.

via Parents who use children as a weapon in break-up ‘should be punished in court’ | BreakingNews.ie

The importance of bonding – keeping in touch

Even if you or your soon-to-be ex-partner do not move away then keeping in touch with the children is of paramount importance.

Bonding with the children is a continuing process that requires continual contact. Finding out how they are doing, what they are doing etc. – all in a way that is natural and unforced.

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Wütende Väter schöpfen neue Hoffnung

Another article on the German Supreme Courts ruling that shared-parenting can be applied in Germany,  if 1) it is in the childs interests and 2) the parents are not already battling it out in court. Then it can be ‘forcefully’ applied.

A couple of interesting things come out of this article:

  • The Germany Family Minister from the Social Democrat Party is VERY pro-mother.
  • Even though the cause of this ruling from the Supreme Court is based in part on the recommendation from the Council of Europe to incorporate shared parenting into national law this minister has ignored it, and has commissioned her own study into the benefits. This study is effectively forbidden from taking evidence from those children that are mostly affected by PAS. Because BOTH parents have to give written permission!

Finally an open letter from “mutterlobby.de” addressed to the family minister is referenced. This letter talks about fathers that simply want to see their children in the most negative way.  Isn’t is time to stop the gender war and find a common workable way for both sexes to contribute to the development of their own children?

via Streit um Scheidungskinder: Wütende Väter schöpfen neue Hoffnung – WELT

Divorced parents who pit children against former partners ‘guilty of abuse’

Very interesting article here. The Head of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) has actually called out parental alienation by name, and also stated that the manipulation of the child by one parent against the other should be dealt with like other cases of child abuse.

Slowly but surely … one step at a time!

via Divorced parents who pit children against former partners ‘guilty of abuse’