“We also communicate through a book in the diaper bag”—Separated parents´ ways to coparent and promote adaptation of their 1-4 year olds in equal joint physical custody

Abstract

Joint physical custody (JPC) refers to a practice where children with separated parents share their time between the parents’ respective homes. Studies on parents’ views of JPC for young children are scarce. The aim of this interview study was to explore parents’ perceptions on how they experience and practice equally shared JPC for their 1–4 year-olds in Sweden. Forty-six parents (18 fathers and 28 mothers) of 50 children (31 boys and 19 girls) under 5 years of age were interviewed. Parents were recruited through information in the media and represented a broad range of socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as both voluntary and court-ordered custody arrangements. The interviews were semi-structured and analyzed using systematic text condensation. Two themes emerged regarding the research question. In the first theme, Always free , never free , parents described their striving to coparent without a love relationship. While they appreciated the freedom of being a “half-time parent”, doing things one’s own way, they felt constrained by the long-term commitment to live close to and keep discussing child rearing issues with the ex-partner. Good communication was key and lessened parent’s feelings of being cut-off from half of the child’s life. When JPC was ordered by court or conflicts were intense, parents tried to have less contact and worried when the children were in the other home. The second theme, Is it right , is it good ?, included descriptions of how the parents monitored the child’s responses to the living arrangement and made changes to optimize their adjustment. Adaptations included visits for the child with the other parent mid-week, shared meals or adapting schedules. In conclusion, these parents worked hard to make JPC work and cause minimal damage to their children. Most parents were pleased with the arrangements with the notable exception of couples experiencing ongoing conflict.

Importance of living arrangements and coparenting quality for young children’s mental health after parental divorce: a cross-sectional parental survey

“… 26 For young children’s mental health, positive parenting practices and high quality in the parent–child relations are particularly important and the interviewed parents described improved parent-child relationships and increased satisfaction in parenting after their divorce. 26 27 JPC allowed them to focus entirely on the child when together and they could make decision without having to compromise with a coparent. In a previous study of 3–5 years old, we found no differences in parent reported child mental health between JPC and intact families but could then not include information on coparenting quality or parental conflict.…”

“…25 A potential explanation for the positive outcome for children in JPC may however be the positive prerequisites for parenting involved in this living arrangement, as described by parents of 1-4 years old in JPC in an interview study. 26 For young children's mental health, positive parenting practices and high quality in the parent-child relations are particularly important and the interviewed parents described improved parent-child relationships and increased satisfaction in parenting Open access after their divorce. 26 27 JPC allowed them to focus entirely on the child when together and they could make decision without having to compromise with a coparent.…”

Exploring Children’s Creative Self-Efficacy Affected by After-School Program and Parent–Child Relationships

“…In addition, a good parent-child relationship depends on the proper upbringing of the children by the parents, adequate love exchanges between the parents and the children, and good communication between them. That is, the three dimensions of parent-child mutual care, love, and communication between parents and their children can be used as indicators of the parent-child relationship (Bergström et al, 2019;Scott et al, 2019). According to the comprehensive literature, it is obvious that parent-child relationships and their interactions have a pivotal impact on children's growth and the shaping of their personality.…”

Divorce and Family Structure in Norway: Associations With Adolescent Mental Health

“…39,167 Parents also in general appear pleased with the arrangement, unless ongoing conflicts are present. 168 parenting by one parent by strong parenting from the other parent, in times of stress. [41][42][43]124 It is important to note that the differences between children and youth in JPC compared to other post-divorce family structures are generally small.…”