vanna I do think that there is plenty of reasons why shared care is not a good plan for very young children. Not just breast feeding but there are developmental issues.

The problem being that residency arrangements put in place for young children can be hard to get changed later if the prime carer does not want change. It's complicated by the ties between residency and property settlement and ongoing handout money. Those issues effect both genders and decisions which they might otherwise make about residency. It's also complicated by the reality that for parents who separate when the kids are young they will be going through the worst turmoil while the kids are young as well. Not the best time to deal with the complex issues involved in shared parenting of young kids.

A fundamentally different approach is needed so that as far as possible the external motivators to fight over residency are removed and parents can get on with arrangements that give all involved the best chance at a good and happy life.

I do think shared care should be the starting point but it can never be a fixed end point, there are too many situations where it does not work or where the harm outweighs the good.

R0bert

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=12558#217588
http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=12558#217605

Hello vanna & antiseptic, all of the feminised metrosexual softies on the loony left always argue the same way as a co-dependent, neurotic woman, when they have NO answers to your logic & facts, they cry foul &/or refuse to continue losing the argument.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/10225424/senator-tells-shoplifting-trial-of-her-depression/

http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/odd/10229869/florida-woman-bites-elderly-man-in-vampire-attack/

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8296701/great-grandmother-jailed-for-centrelink-scam

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8296794/us-mother-glued-daughters-hands-to-wall

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8296795/sydney-school-formal-ends-in-a-brawl

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8294677/man-ordered-to-pay-ex-wife-for-lack-of-sex

the evidence of fatherlessness is everywhere & still the closet communist, corporate paedophiles promote the neglect & abuse of children. clearly feMANazism & all loony left politics is an incurable mental illness.

No australian child will be safe until they are all in a secure mental hospital until cured or dead.

Robert,
Remove the words "primary carer" or "primary parent", and re-install the words mother and father.

Also, a woman could be asked in court if she would be embarrassed if others found out that she is paying child support.

If her answer is yes, then most likely she wants custody so that she does not become embarrased.

That now appears to be a major factor.

RObert
Your thoughts marry with mine for the most part.

vanna
Sorry you have lost me completely. Sometimes I really don't know what you are going on about. Mother's little secrets - what secrets? Why would it be shameful to admit paying child support, men don't feel the need to hide it. Most arrangements are now shared care except where ex-spouses have agreed to mutually suitable terms.

Formersnag
I don't think I have ever seen you show any compassion for women in any situation even if she has been abused or mistreated. In your world you only see women as 'bad' men as pure as the driven snow. I hate to break it to you but some men do cheat, lie and even rape. Why should women have to put up with that from radical MasculiNAZIS.

Some of you don't like it when women are displaying independence or being supported or reliant. No win situation really as far as your perception goes. When a man agrees with equal access for women FS does nothing but denigrate and emasculate him.

Your responses really do reveal a lot about your attitude to women and for those reasons I cannot take much of what you say seriously. It is more than just wanting equality for men as well as women as many women have acknowleged men can get a raw deal from the Family Court at times.

What is it you want from women? How do you think families and societies should be structured in your perfect world?

Still waiting for an answer on that one.

Pelican,

Mummy's little secret, is that she doesn't want other women to know that she is not the "primary carer".

Other women might think she is a bad mother.

So, if she is in a position where the father might get custody and the father becomes the "primary carer", then the mother is likely to try all sorts of tricks to get custody.

That is another reason why the term "primary carer" should be dropped from the Family Law system.

It is also a myth that most arrangements are shared parenting.

The system still remains that a father gets every second weekend and half the school holidays with few, if any, questions asked, but if he wants more, he has to spend a lot of money and time in court.

Most allegations of abuse mysteriously arise if the father wants more than every second weekend and half the school holidays.

How not so unusual.

Yes vanna it is clear you think women are no good, they are all liars and men always tell the truth. You need a reality check and some perspective on this.

Of course mothers don't want to be seen as bad mothers. Do men want to be seen as bad fathers? Why all the fuss about these millions of false accusations then? But what has that got to do with who gets primary care? Those decisions are not based on what other people might think?

What term would you use instead of primary carer?