Joint custody in the United States

In England, prior to the nineteenth century, common law considered children to be the property of their father. However, the economic and social changes that occurred during the nineteenth century lead to a shift in ideas about the dynamics of the family. Industrialization separated the home and the workplace, keeping fathers away from their children in order to earn wages and provide for their family. Conversely, mothers were expected to stay in the home and care for the household and the children. Important social changes such as women's suffrage and child development theories allowed for ideas surrounding the importance of maternal care. This change has shifted the emphasis from having the need for the child to have an attachment to one "psychological" parent to the need to have an ongoing relationship between both parents. Originally, joint legal custody meant joint custody. In this joint legal custody arrangement, the child's parents shared responsibility over discussing issues related to the child-rearing. In these arrangements with joint legal custody, one of the parents was awarded physical custody, which designated them as the primary parent, or one of the parents was allowed to determine the primary residence of the children. Though this implied that both parents had a "significant period" of time with the children, it did nothing to ensure this factor, which meant that the parent without primary custody of the child could end up having little opportunity to see his or her children. Shared parenting legislation A number of states have considered or passed laws that create a rebuttable legal presumption in favor of shared parenting in a custody case. ==Joint legal custody==

Joint legal custody grants parents joint decision-making rights for important decisions that affect their minor children. The parents jointly decide how to raise their children in matters of schooling, spirituality, social events, sports religion, medical concerns, and other important decisions. This generally means that both parents must be involved for major legal matters concerning their children, but that ordinary "day-to-day" matters and issues are left to the discretion of the parent who is providing physical care for the children at the time the decision is made. Advantages When parents have joint legal custody to share important decision-making that affect their child, both parents may be more proactive in their child's upbringing, and the parents may experience less animosity and negativity in their co-parenting relationship. Disadvantages Joint legal custody arrangements may be problematic when one parent attempts to control the majority of decisions in the child's life without regard to the other parent. Attempts to share decision-making may then cause one or both parents to become combative and argue over many decisions that need to be made about their children, resulting in significant stress to the parents and their children. ==Joint physical custody==

In joint physical custody, also known as shared parenting, the child has a legal residence or domicile in both parents' homes, and the lodging and care of the child is shared according to a court-ordered "parenting plan" or "parenting schedule"). Courts generally have not clearly defined what "significant periods" and "frequent and continuous contact" mean, which requires parents to litigate to find out. Laws States tend to have one of three approaches to joint physical custody. • A rebuttable presumption in favor of shared parenting as being in the best interest of the child, so that this is the default option with exceptions made when there is child abuse or neglect. Missouri in 2016 and Virginia in 2018. • No mention of joint physical custody as a suitable option, although a judge may still grant it if both parents agree or if the judge consider it to be in the best interest of the child. Some common examples are: • Every other week, also known as "week on, week off". Children benefit from having both parents involved in their upbringing, and joint physical custody facilitates that. Children in a joint custody arrangement are more likely to have outcomes similar to children from intact families, and to fare better than children in sole custody arrangements. Even when there is conflict between the parents, children benefit from joint physical custody. Parents in joint physical custody arrangements report lower levels of conflict with one another, as compared to those in sole custody arrangements. Joint physical custody is associated with more positive parental relationships, effective parenting, and lower inter-parental conflict; key factors that ensure a child's well-being following divorce. Some commentators believe that infants and preschoolers do not benefit from joint custody arrangements due to the importance of a consistent routine and the security of a primary attachment figure at that age. However, a consensus report published in an American Psychological Association journal that was endorsed by experts on attachment, early child development, and divorce, has rejected that perspective. Some critics of joint physical custody express concern that frequent ping-pong moves back and forth between their parents' homes will have a negative emotional impact on children, and that the children may develop the feeling that there is "Mom's House" and "Dad's House", and no residence that a child may consider to be "my home". ==Advocacy==

Advocates for joint physical custody assert that it is in the best interest of children, with exceptions for child abuse and neglect, and assert that shared parenting can reduce family disruption, improve the welfare of children, and reduce domestic violence. Organizations that advocate for shared parenting include the Children's Rights Council, and the National Parents Organization, which operates nationally and through state chapters, and Leading Women for Shared Parenting. In 2014, a group of 110 researchers and mental health practitioners endorsed a consensus report supporting the view that shared parenting should be the norm for parenting plans for children of all ages, including very young children. While joint parenting has become a national norm, some organizations urge restraint or oppose presumptions in favor of joint parenting. For example, the National Organization of Women opposes "one size fits all" presumptions that it believes can increase the risk of domestic violence and undermine judicial discretion. The League of Women Voters is largely neutral on the subject, but in the past some chapters have asserted that custody decisions should accord with the best interests of the child, and that presumptions should not overcome a child's best interest. ==See also==