As a parent, you can make the process of separation easier on your children. Leading up to and throughout the process of a divorce, the conflict between the two most important people in your children’s lives is damaging.
Resolution, an organisation of 6,500 lawyers and other professionals in England and Wales believes in a constructive, non-confrontational approach to family law matters. The Resolution Parenting Charter sets out what children should be able to expect from their parents if they are separating and what parents need to do in the interests of their children.
At these times of family difficulty, it is easy for adults to forget what it is like to be a child especially when they are experiencing feelings of hurt and fear for the future.
The Resolution Parenting Charter encourages parents to agree together that their children have the right to:
- be at the centre of any decisions made about their lives
- feel and be loved and cared for by both parents
- know and have contact with both sides of their families, including any siblings who may not live with them, as long as they are safe
- a childhood, including freedom from the pressures of adult concerns, such as financial worries
- financial support and protection from poverty
- support and encouragement in all aspects of their lives, including their education, as well as their physical and mental well-being
- form and express their own views on any matter affecting them
- be kept informed about matters in an age-appropriate manner
- privacy and respect for their feelings, including the way they feel about each of their parents
- protection from information and material, including that found online, which may be harmful to them
- protection from harm, and from adults who might do them harm.
