What are the best custody arrangements for children?
Making custody and caretaking arrangements match as closely as possible each parent’s role before the divorce is one strategy that can work well. Joint custody, or sole custody with liberal visitation, benefits kids as long as parents get along. If conflict between parents is very high, it may be necessary to limit visitation. Are there any differences in adjustment when the father has custody instead of the mother? For adolescents, yes. On average, adolescents are less well adjusted in father custody. But these differences often reflect other pre-existing difficulties (e.g., fathers are more likely to get custody when adolescent children are acting out, or when mothers have been less invested.) Basically, any parent can be a good custodial parent and children can thrive in any custody arrangement. Under what circumstances is it best to stay together “for the sake of the kids?” Existing research would suggest that when conflict is minimal and problems in the marriage are not interferin
