Forward
This article’s one-sided portrayal of fathers in the context of post-divorce relationships and co-parenting. The research highlights the positive impact of both parents being involved in children’s lives, but it tends to focus heavily on fathers’ shortcomings, often without accounting for broader socio-economic factors. In particular, the claim that wealthier fathers maintain better relationships with their children fails to consider the high unemployment rates in countries like South Africa, where many fathers struggle financially due to systemic issues.
This bias presents an incomplete picture, ignoring the fact that economic instability, especially in South Africa with its 30% unemployment rate and even higher numbers of people giving up on finding work, plays a significant role in fathers’ abilities to maintain regular contact with their children. It’s not just a matter of willingness or proximity, but rather a complex interplay of societal and economic pressures that the study overlooks.
It is clear that this article is biased, particularly in its portrayal of fathers. Several key issues need to be addressed for a more holistic view, particularly within the South African context. The article seems to suggest that fathers, particularly less educated or unemployed fathers, are largely responsible for losing contact with their children post-divorce. However, this ignores several critical factors that impact father-child relationships, especially in countries like South Africa.
Firstly, the economic realities in South Africa are severe, with recent unemployment figures standing above 30%, and over 30% of people having given up hope of finding work. This economic instability has a direct impact on fathers’ ability to maintain relationships with their children. It’s not simply about willingness or wealth, but rather the broader economic system that fails to support these relationships.
It also ignores in the main that mothers just get up and relocate without a forwarding address, one of the largest complaints that we receive as Fathers 4 Justice South Africa
Secondly, South Africa’s education system plays a significant role in this issue. The system, which many consider to be ineffective and poorly designed, leaves the majority of students unemployable. Every year, around a million children begin their schooling careers, but only about 30% complete matric. The lowball subject pass rate of 30% further exacerbates an already shocking education our children receive in South Africa. It is well known that the incumbent ruling party wants merely to be seen to be giving an education. The incumbent ruling party could care less than a dam, about what, if any education is actually provided. The outcomes-based education system is not preparing students for real-world skills, such as obtaining certifications in practical fields like electrical work or nursing. Without these skills, students face higher unemployment rates, which in turn affects the ability of future fathers to provide for and maintain relationships with their children.
Additionally, the BELA Bill signed off in part on September 13, 2024, has been widely rejected by the South African people. It threatens to worsen an already dysfunctional education system, further restricting opportunities for fathers and children to break free from cycles of poverty and limited opportunity.
With reference specifically to South Africa, there is a failure to consider that culture, tradition, and religion play a significant role in limiting fathers’ involvement with their children. These aspects, combined with a collapsed education and economic system, create conditions where it is increasingly difficult for fathers to maintain contact with their children, no matter their intentions.
Before placing blame solely on fathers, it’s critical to look at the broader picture—South Africa’s broken systems, its cultural constraints, and the socio-economic challenges that directly affect father-child relationships. The article, in focusing narrowly on fathers’ supposed failings, misses the larger issues at play and risks perpetuating the notion that fathers alone are responsible for the problem.
The article implies that fathers bear the brunt of the responsibility for strained relationships post-divorce, which is overly simplistic. Instead, it should focus on how both parents, in various economic conditions, can be supported to remain involved in their children’s lives. It’s important to point out such inconsistencies and advocate for a more balanced, nuanced view of the challenges fathers face, particularly in less affluent or economically stable contexts.
Introduction
In recent years, shared parenting and the involvement of nonresident fathers in post-divorce families have gained significant attention. Policymakers and child welfare advocates emphasize the importance of maintaining strong father-child relationships, arguing that father involvement is crucial for children’s emotional and behavioral well-being post-divorce. Research, however, remains unclear on whether frequent father-child contact often advocated as beneficial, actually improves children’s adjustment. This study by Viry (2014) aims to explore how geographical distance between fathers and children, coparenting quality, and telecommunication tools affect children’s emotional and behavioral outcomes. The study focuses on a sample of 144 divorced mothers living in Geneva, Switzerland, to evaluate how these factors interact and contribute to children’s post-divorce adjustment.
Summary
This research examines how fathers’ residential proximity and the quality of co-parenting affect children’s adjustment post-divorce. Data from 144 divorced mothers in Geneva reveal that both the physical closeness of fathers and maternal promotion of father-child relationships (cohesive co-parenting) positively influence children’s emotional and behavioral health. Frequent phone or email contact between fathers and children partially compensates for geographical distance, but proximity still plays a key role in fostering positive outcomes, such as reduced behavioral difficulties and better social interactions. The study underscores the need to focus on spatial dimensions and telecommunication’s role in maintaining father-child relationships post-divorce.
Detailed Explanation of 20 Key Findings
- Fathers’ proximity benefits children’s emotional well-being
Children with fathers living nearby exhibit fewer emotional and behavioral problems. - Cohesive co-parenting promotes positive father-child relationships
Mothers who encourage father-child interactions help reduce children’s emotional difficulties. - Geographical distance influences father-child contact frequency
Fathers who live farther away tend to have less frequent face-to-face contact with their children. - Telecommunication helps mitigate the impact of distance
Frequent phone or email contact between fathers and children can substitute for face-to-face interactions when physical proximity is limited. - Cohesive co-parenting and frequent contact lead to better social outcomes
Children whose fathers have regular communication show improved prosocial behavior and lower conflict with peers. - Maternal gatekeeping can affect fathers’ involvement
When mothers promote a positive image of fathers, children benefit emotionally and socially. - Children’s adjustment improves with frequent contact, regardless of proximity
While proximity is important, frequent virtual communication also positively affects children’s emotional outcomes. - Father’s education level affects co-parenting dynamics
Highly educated fathers living nearby tend to have higher levels of involvement, though this can also increase interparental conflict. - Younger children benefit more from proximity
Younger children who live closer to their fathers show significantly fewer behavioral problems. - Older children adjust better with cohesive co-parenting
The study found that cohesive co-parenting is more important for older children’s emotional stability than physical proximity. - Nonresident fathers can still maintain strong relationships through technology
This is not the correct way to do it and does not promote the best relationship for the father-child relationship. Fathers who consistently engage with their children through phone calls or emails maintain closer relationships, even at a distance. - Parents’ coordination impacts children’s behavior
Parents who coordinate their parenting roles effectively help reduce their children’s hyperactivity and behavioral difficulties. - Fathers who live nearby have higher involvement
Fathers who live within close distance to their children have more frequent, in-person contact, contributing to better child outcomes. - Proximity does not always guarantee good co-parenting
Some fathers who live nearby do not engage in high-quality parenting, showing that proximity alone is not enough. - Conflict between parents worsens children’s outcomes
High-conflict situations, even with close physical proximity, can lead to increased behavioral problems in children. - Shared custody arrangements lead to better emotional outcomes
Children in shared custody arrangements show fewer signs of emotional distress compared to those in sole custody. - Cohesive co-parenting reduces hyperactivity in children
Mothers who foster positive relationships between fathers and children help reduce their children’s hyperactivity symptoms. - Distance affects fathers’ child support payments
Fathers living closer to their children are more likely to pay child support, which contributes to better emotional well-being for the children. - Long-distance fathers still have a positive impact
Fathers who maintain regular contact via telecommunication, despite geographical distance, have children with better social skills. - Geographical proximity may increase interparental conflict
Fathers living close to their children may have more frequent conflicts with the mother, which can affect children’s adjustment.
Conclusion
The findings of this research highlight the complex dynamics between geographical proximity, co-parenting quality, and children’s post-divorce adjustment. While frequent contact between fathers and children, facilitated by physical proximity, enhances children’s emotional and behavioral well-being, cohesive co-parenting plays an equally crucial role. Maternal support for father-child relationships, even at a distance, can significantly improve children’s outcomes. This study advocates for policies that promote both physical proximity and technological communication, ensuring that children can benefit from consistent parental involvement post-divorce. Future research should delve deeper into the role of telecommunication and its ability to substitute for geographical proximity in maintaining effective co-parenting relationships.
Final Thought
This article reflects a violent, gynocentric, and misandrist view that unfairly burdens fathers. Fathers are expected to maintain relationships with their children, often at great financial and emotional cost. Invariably, it is mothers who move away with the intent to alienate the child from the father. Relocation is rarely about the child’s best interest but about selfishness and self-centeredness.
The Psychological Effects of Relocation on Children of Divorce: Key Insights and Findings
Fathers 4 Justice believes that if a parent wants to relocate, they should leave without the child. It’s our experience that children often don’t want to move, and mothers eventually return, proving relocation isn’t about the child’s welfare. The article also fails to acknowledge how mothers frustrate contact before relocating, making future contact even harder.
Maintaining contact through technology is ineffective if contact was already strained before the move. The cost of maintaining contact always falls on the father, making the situation even more biased. The article recognizes that proximity improves relationships and improves the father-child relationship. This article deliberately ignores the financial and logistical struggles fathers face in maintaining long-distance relationships.
Furthermore, the article does not discuss parallel parenting, which should be recommended in high-conflict situations. Fathers 4 Justice is clear that parents should raise their children together.
The reader always needs to remember that there are always seven sides to a story, your story, your exes, the social worker, both sets of lawyers, the psychologists, and the judges. Somewhere in this pile of excitement lies the truth.
It is in the best interest of the child to have daily physical, emotional, and psychological, contact, care, guardianship, and maintenance with, by, and of both parents at all times.
There is not one superior parent, both parents are the best parent.
Relocation is always done out of spite, never considering the child’s true best interests.
References
Viry, G. (2014). Coparenting and children’s adjustment to divorce: the role of geographical distance from fathers. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 55(7), 503-526.
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