While MDW Law did not write this and we cannot attribute the author, the value of these words warrants sharing.
- Your child has the right to develop and maintain a separate relationship with each parent regardless of the relationship between the parents.
- Your child has the right to visit both parents regardless of how the adults in the situation feel and regardless of convenience or finances.
- Your child has the right to be financially supported by both parents, regardless of the amount of time each parent spends with the child.
- Your child has a right to have contact with the absent parent and have private conversations with the absent parent.
- Your child has a right to have pictures of their individual parents regardless of the home they are in.
- Your child has the right to continue to love both parents without guilt or disapproval (subtle or overt) by either parent or other family members.
- Your child has the right to not participate in or be otherwise subjected to the conflict between the parents.
- Your child has the right to not be questioned upon their return from the other parent’s home or asked to provide information about the other parent.
- Your child has the right to be reassured that they are safe and their needs will be met.
- Your child has the right to be guided, taught, supervised, disciplined, and nurtured by each parent, without the interference from the other parent.
- Your child has the right to not have to hear hostile, negative, or otherwise critical comments about the other parent.
- Your child has the right to not have to defend, take sides with or denigrate the other parent.
- Your child has the right to not make adult decisions, including where they will live, where and when they will be picked up or dropped off, or who is to blame for the conflict between their parents.
- Your child has the right to stay in contact with relatives, including grandparents and special family friends.
- Your child has the right to not be a messenger between parents: not to carry notes, legal papers, money or requests between parents.
- Your child has the right to a personal sleeping area and space for personal belongings in each parent’s home.
- Your child has the right to be protected from people who are under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs.
- Your child has the right to a stable, consistent and responsible child-care arrangement when not supervised by the parents.
- Your child has the right to have a daily and weekly routine that is predictable and can be verified by looking at a schedule on a calendar in a system that is understandable to the child.
- Your child has the right to participate in activities that support their unique interests and to have adults who will get them to the events, on time, without guilt or shame.
- Your child has the right to have their parents behave in a civil and responsible manner with each other, when the child is present or within hearing range.
- Your child has the right to expect that both parents will follow through with the parenting plan, honoring specific commitments for scheduled time.
- Your child has the right to have their developmental and special needs given appropriate consideration and adaptation in any child-care plan.
- Your child has the right to have both parents informed about medical, dental, educational, extracurricular and family matters concerning the child, unless such disclosure would prove harmful to the child.