95% of people now agree that both parents should share responsibility for bringing up children and 84% say both parents deserve equal custody rights.

In response to the current shake-up of the family justice system, there is a strong consensus among Britons that both the mother and the father should be entitled to an equal share of child custody rights when getting divorced or separated according to a new poll by YouGov

• 84% believe that both parents should have equal rights over the custody of their children
• Almost one in ten Britons (9%) believe the mother should have the most rights over the custody of their children
• Only 2% think the father should have more rights over the custody of their children

A child’s right to maintain contact with both parents following their separation or divorce are to be strengthened under government proposals to amend the Children Act 1989. Any changes will enforce family courts in England and Wales to assume the child’s welfare is best served by remaining involved with both parents.

The new policy aims to quell the conflict arising within the current system when children, who are put in the care of their mothers, are barred from seeing their fathers.  There is an overwhelming support by the British public that both a mother and a father must share the responsibility for bringing up children, with over four fifths agreeing that fathers are instrumental in a child’s life.

• 95% agree that both parents should share responsibility for bringing up children, 2% disagree
• 85% agree that fathers are instrumental in bringing up children, 9% disagree
• 52% believe that a father’s main role should be to provide for the family by working and earning money, while 42% disagree, thinking a father’s role extends beyond being a breadwinner
• 86% agree that the role of fathers has changed drastically in the past 50 years, while 9% disagree and feel there has not been much change

The term ‘shared responsibility’ ensures only the presence of both a mother and a father in a child’s upbringing, but not necessarily an equal amount of time with their children. Many parents, particularly fathers, have criticised the current legal system which they claim too often leads to unfair results and deprives them of a proper and meaningful relationship with their children.

The above information is taken directly from the YouGov website.

Source: 95% say parenting should be shared (http://brightonmanplan.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/95-say-parenting-should-be-shared/)