Essay on Child Custody Laws in Columbia

This essay focuses on child custody in Columbia. Previously, custody of a child was taken up by a mother however, it is no longer the case, and custody is decided according to the best interests of the child. During custody, both parents are treated equally and the main considerations are joint custody and sole custody (Atkinson, 2010). With joint custody, both parents have equal rights regarding the significant issues in a child's life for example education, healthcare, religion, and more others. Parents need to corporate to come up with a favorable decision. In addition, there is joint physical custody where a child ought to spend time with both parents for example a week with each of them. In the case of sole custody, a single parent is given the responsibility and one without custody is also entitled to parenting time although the case differs if the parent without custody has a mental illness, visitation can be done with supervision. I, therefore, argue that the law of joint custody is obeyed after divorce.

Proposed Thesis

After divorce, both parents are equally entitled to the welfare of the children. They carry equal responsibilities in making major decisions that are vital in children's life and ought to share parenting time. This thesis campaigns for joint custody.

The issue to Focus on and why it is Relevant

Who is responsible for the child’s custody? The mother or father? This issue is highly relevant but equally contentious because both parents have significant roles in a child’s life. For instance, in Latin America, a mother is vital in the social wellbeing while the father is responsible for the economic wellbeing of the child (Guinta, et al, 2011). However, with the changing family setting, families under the care of single parents are on an increase. Given this, joint custody needs to be done to ensure efficient co-parenting so that children get love from both parents. In addition, parents need to participate in the upbringing of their children, they need to make relevant decisions that will aid the smooth well-being of these children (Lee, 2021) although this has to be done in a way that is respectful to the child's rights.

Arguments that Support the Thesis

Joint custody is where parents share equal responsibilities and have equal rights over the child and participate in decision making. This policy is of high value to the child's life because they can interact with both parents and a child is not deprived of parental love. It is also important because parents participate in mutual decision-making regarding the child and hence there are limited cases of conflicts. The burden of parenting is taken off from one parent since both of them can equally share responsibilities (Bastaits, & Pasteels, 2019) and is essential in nurturing the child. This policy helps a child to create a strong bond with both parents since they spend quality time with each other. Despite the many campaigns against joint custody saying it exposes the child to emotional distress between the two parents, joint custody still outstands sole custody because depriving a child free access to one parent may expose them to lack of certain essential things in life (Bauserman, 2002) for example economic stress which may ensue into hatred against the absent parent. Besides, the absence of one parent affects each gender differently. Therefore, when deciding custody of a child in Columbia, the law needs to be obeyed because it is for the good of the child’s upbringing and wellbeing.

Conclusion

As discussed above, joint custody is highly essential in the upbringing of children since the child can freely access both parents and parenting responsibilities equally shared which relieves both parents from stress.