A child’s developmental stage, temperament, and the level of conflict between the parents, shapes a child focused parenting plan.
The most difficult aspect of a custody battle, in my opinion, is that typically both parents have an established pattern of dysfunctional behaviors that limit positive family interaction. The conflict, the drama and the fighting is rarely about the true needs of the children. Too often the emotional needs of both parents are enmeshed in the battle despite the needs of the children. The complex legal issues presented typically exist as a result of the misconduct, or mental impairments of one or both parents, whose intractable contradictory positions operate in direct opposition to the best interests of their children which makes a recommendation as to which living arrangement with these parentis is in the child’s “best interest” an almost impossible task.