Child Custody and Support Available - Essay Example

Fathers who want to be the custodial parent for the greater good of the child realize that though there are constitutional guarantees for equality men seem to be less equal than women in this perspective.Argument During the divorce process, the father has to undergo a child custody evaluation at which point he learns that the daily access to rear the child is shared or fully impeded. The father has to take immense efforts to convince the custody evaluator by pointing out the reasons why he is good as a custodial parent.

The evaluation is a questionable process because it can be either rational or fair since evaluation is carried out without any benchmarks or standardized testing. It is even more difficult for fathers to be a custodial parent because the mother is usually given custody in the best interest of the child. According to the Old Bureau of Census statistics, the proportions at which the father and mother obtained to be the custodial parents in the early ’90s stood at 1:90, while 9% of the kids were assigned to the care of family members.

Though custody evaluations take place, the evaluators conclude with an expected judgment which usually favors the mother to be the custodial parent because the child has been raised by the mother and she would be able to offer a more stable life. This leads to a reason that a father is disqualified for custody because they do not spend much time with the kids since they were working. But this should not be a reason to penalize men (Hughson, D). Court orders are sometimes biased even if the evaluation process finds the father to be the most suitable custodial parent.

On the social front, children who grow up without a father at home is at an increased risk of transforming into a criminal in society. Children are also likely to drop out of school, indulge in drug abuse, commit suicide, or get pregnant. Therefore gender bias towards fathers in gaining custody must undergo a change (Child Custody and Support).Fathers are backlashed when it comes to the custody of the child because the court does not want to disrupt the child’s life if the mother is in the custody of the child during the legal course of a divorce.

A father has to undergo complex procedures to prove that he is a better parent with quality time at home with the child than the mother does and prove his strengths in rearing the child. Further, the father has to take decisive steps to find an attorney who has won similar cases and learn the steps that would be taken by the evaluator to prepare himself to win custody of the child (How Can A Man Get Custody Of His Child?).ConclusionIt may be concluded that the social scenario has undergone a drastic change where the mother does not spend quality time in rearing the children and spends more time in social circles with indulgences in drug/alcohol addiction, partying or in other activities due to which she does not spend time in child care.

Therefore the evaluation process must consider the plea of both the parents with a practical approach that is favorable to the child and favor the father if the mother is unfit to take custody of the child.