The court determines child custody

A child custody proceeding is any case involving child protection, adoption, guardianship, termination of parental rights or voluntary placement of your child. The support order will be based on the child's needs, obligor's ability to pay, custody arrangements and the child support guidelines. The Criminal Code makes it an offence to abduct a child to spite a custody order. A custody order establishes both the custody and parenting time arrangement for the children. Your child custody order is also confidential. When an unmarried mother has a child, the mother has legal custody of that child until a court says otherwise. During divorce, marriage, or annulment proceedings, the issue of child custody often becomes a matter for the court to determine. The Court must consider the following factors in every child custody decision under the law regarding the best interest of the child. The court retains the power to alter the custody arrangements until the child turns 18 or is emancipated. You may contest custody, child support, and alimony and property division by appearing in court and filing appropriate legal papers. At the hearing, the court shall hear evidence to determine whether the child custody and support determination should be modified. The fact that one parent has been the child's primary caretaker is often considered but is not enough to guarantee a custody award. It is not that unusual for middle class parents to spend $60,000 on a divorce and child custody fight. Traditionally, divorce in the United States results in one parent being awarded primary custody and decision making for a child. Rights Each parent shares the rights and responsibility for the care, custody, companionship, and support of their children. Some states, such as Arizona, have fathers rights groups specifically dedicated to helping fathers obtain custody of their children (arizonafathersrights for example). Definitions Custody means that a parent has legal custodial rights and responsibilities toward the child. Joint child custody means that both parents have the legal custodial rights and responsibilities toward a child. Joint custody allows both parents to have a say in the child's upbringing. There is no evidence to support that a presumption of joint custody is in the best interests of children. A study found that only when parents were still actively fighting did joint custody exacerbate children's feelings of being torn between parents. However, when both parents favor joint custody, it can be a good solution for the children. Some parents have chosen a joint-custody arrangement in which the child spends an approximately equal amount of time with both parents. Some states award joint custody in which the judge simply divides the child's time between the parents. Joint custody does not mean simply alternating where the child lives from time to time. In fact, there may be legal joint custody, but the child may live with only one parent. Legal child custody includes the right to make decisions about the child's education, religion, health care, and other important concerns. A child may be placed in foster care while a custody case is pending. Legal custody means the right to determine the child's upbringing, including education, health care, and religious training. Physical custody and residence means the routine daily care and control and where the child lives. Physical child custody is awarded to one parent with whom the child will live most of the time. In most cases, both parents continue to share legal child custody but one parent gains physical child custody. There is also a presumption that it is in the child's best interest to be in the custody of a parent over a non-parent. Visitation rights allow the non-custodial parent (the person without child custody) time to spend with their child. A common arrangement is that one parent gets custody of the child and the other parent is given visitation rights. Evaluation A child custody evaluation is a report written by a neutral professional about you, the other parent, and your children. It is usually not necessary that formal psychological tests be administered to each parent in the context of a child-custody evaluation. The primary purpose and focus of the custody and/or visitation evaluation is to determine what is in the best interests of the childprehensive child custody evaluations generally require an evaluation of all parents/guardians and children, as well as observations of interactions between them. The children are also evaluated in a custody/visitation evaluation. Attorney Because of the complexity of child custody matters and the importance of the outcome, it may be advisable to contact an attorney. The attorney should know several child custody evaluators or guardian ad litems that they have worked with successfully. If you proceed with a child custody action without an attorney, you are acting as your own attorney. In a child custody dispute, there are rarely winners, frequently everyone is a loser, and the biggest losers are often the children. When women fear losing custody of children the stress can be overwhelming. However, in many cases, women are favored as holding custody of their children.

Your obese child school programs

More than five years ago, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) published ‘Guidelines for School and Community Programs’ to promote physical activity in children and teenagers, in hopes of helping them develop lifelong exercise and physical fitness regimens. If you, as a parent, understand and embrace these guidelines, you can work with your school system and with community centers and programs, like the YMCA and the Boy Scouts, to encourage and even help to develop physical activity and exercise programs that support your goals. If your child is obese, slightly overweight or simply in danger of falling into the great, black pit of video gaming, you need to get them off the couch, out from in front of the computer or video game station, and out into the fresh air to get some exercise. Without exercise, diet is much less successful. Although your child may balk at physical activities at first, they will eventually find that they feel better, sleep better and function better when they exercise. Take a look at some of the CDC guidelines and look for ways to get your child more involved in exercise, and/or to get YOURSELF more involved in the development of these programs in your schools and community. The CDC encourages schools and community organizations alike to establish policies and guidelines that encourage physical activity that is enjoyable and that is suitable for all age groups, so that exercise becomes a lifelong activity. Schools MUST require physical education credits and provide detailed health education and courses to teach children proper nutritional habits and to show them the right way to exercise so that they are not injured in the process. Schools will find and implement physical education and exercise programs that encourage physical activity and offer enjoyable options. Activities like dance, gymnastics, sports and other options should be offered with supervised coaching to avoid injury. Not all activities should be competitive! Activities should be sequential, advancing in complexity and challenge as the child ages to allow them to achieve physical potential. At minimum, National Physical Fitness standards should be met. Both schools and community organizations must provide funding and adequate supervision and guidance for physical activities, sports, and exercise equipment. These activities and equipment choices must provide a broad range of options to satisfy the interests of all the children in the community, and school system. Community and school programs should include activities that are appropriate for children of all ages and all levels of ability. These programs should be advertised and promoted to children to advise them of the availability and the programs should be desirable and enjoyable for the age group and type of children who are expected to participate. Health education classes should help students develop knowledge and skills to encourage and enhance proper diet and exercise programs. These programs should foster an appropriate attitude so that all children WANT to live a healthy life style. Programs should stress moderation in all activities so that children see exercise as one of the things they will do every day, in addition to the other activities they love, e. gputer or video games, or watching TV or movies. All coaches, teachers, health education staff, and recreation directors should have appropriate training to manage and promote this physical education and exercise programs and to ensure that the children under their supervision safely participate in these programs. Safe, supervised access to facilities and equipment is critical! Unstructured play time is important during school and after school, with tools and equipment to encourage impromptu games, e. g. balls, bats, jump ropes, gymnastics equipment. Parents and teachers should come together to discuss the availability of school and community exercise and physical education programs. Parents should be encouraged to take on exercise and physical activities and to share these with their children as appropriate; to become role models for their kids by exercising and participating in physical activities during family events, at work functions, while visiting the park, etc. All school and community programs should be evaluated periodically. This evaluation should be detailed enough to ensure that the needs of the children in the community are being met. Does each child have more than one option and opportunity for exercise and health education in multiple venues and facilities? Now that you understand the CDC recommendations, take a look at your own school system and at the extracurricular, and community availability of physical activities, sports and exercise options. If your community is lagging behind in these programs, get actively involved. Your attendance and presentation at a town board meeting can get organizations like the Boys and Girls Club, and the YMCA into your community. And you can talk to your school board and PTA or PTO about the shortcomings in your physical education and health programs, and how your school system may be able to improve their current programs. You will find it much easier to help your child meet their weight loss or fitness goals when you have community and school system support. For your overweight, obese or inactive child, this support and assistance is priceless!

A parent s guide to social networking

"It's 10 p. m. Do you know where your children are?" Remember that phrase from your own childhood? It's still a valid question, but now, it comes with a twist: "Do you know where your kids are-and who they're talking to online?" Social networking sites are the hippest "meet market" around, especially among tweens, teens, and 20-somethings. These sites allow and encourage people to exchange information about themselves in profiles and journals, and use message boards, chat rooms, e-mail and instant messaging to communicate with the world at large. Unfortunately, while social networking sites can increase a person's circle of friends, they also can increase exposure to people who have less than friendly intentions. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation's consumer protection agency, offers tips for helping your kids use these sites safely: • Keep the computer in an open area, like the kitchen or family room, where you can keep an eye on where your kids are going online and what they're doing. • Use the Internet with your kids. Be open to learning about the technology so you can keep up with them. Look into their favorite sites so you can set sensible guidelines. • Talk to your kids about their online habits. If they use social networking sites, tell them why it's important to keep their name, Social Security number, address, phone number, age and family financial information to themselves. Your children should be cautious about sharing other identifying information, too. • Your kids should post only information that you and they are comfortable with everyone seeing and knowing. The Internet is the world's biggest billboard: Just about anyone could see their page, including their teachers, the police, a college admissions officer, or a potential employer. In addition, once information is online, it's there forever. • Warn your kids about the dangers of flirting with strangers online. Because some people lie online about who they really are, no one ever really knows who they're dealing with. Tell your children to trust their gut: If they feel threatened or uncomfortable by someone or something online, they need to tell you and then report it to the police and your Internet service provider. You could end up preventing someone else from becoming a victim. • If you're concerned that your child is engaging in risky online behavior, you can search the blog sites they visit to see what information they're posting. Try searching by their name, nickname, school, hobbies, or area where you live.