16 June 2014

Over the weekend, there was significant coverage of claims in The Independent on Sunday, the Daily Telegraph and elsewhere by childcare expert Penelope Leach that "... as a general rule, children aged under five should not be separated from their mother by having a "sleepover" with the father, when couples have separated."

This comes from her new book on family breakdown, in which she says that attempts by separated parents to "share" young children is putting "adult rights" above those of  children, and that there is "undisputed" evidence that separating children from their mothers "reduces brain development" and creates a tendency toward "unhealthy attachment issues".

"We would all agree with the core message of Penelope Leach's book, which is that parents should always focus on their children's needs after separation" comments Jerry Karlin, Chair of Families Need Fathers.

"However, we find her interpretation of attachment theory as the necessity for mothers to exclusively be the main care givers in the early years, whilst relegating the role of separated fathers to little more than visitors, to be quite extraordinary.”

"This cuts across recent research, such as the major review by Richard Warshak."

"Shared Parenting doesn't have to mean a 50:50 split of time, but both parents should be involved in important decisions about their children's live, and in routine care. It is remarkable that these kind of outdated views are being expressed in light of current research in this field not to mention simple common sense – which has progressed significantly over the last few decades."

ENDS

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