Divorce is a time when you part ways. The status quo is no longer acceptable.
However, it is not truly an end in most cases — your family continues on after divorce. You deserve the best possible continuation, and so do your children.
Children need fathers
You know intuitively that your children need their father. You have probably felt it for your children’s entire lives. Slowly but surely, science is beginning to corroborate this fact — a fact that you and every father knows.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison puts it simply: involved fathers matter. Your involvement in your children’s lives gives them a better chance to succeed in various important areas, such as school performance, social competence, behavior and even math and verbal skills.
This information does not come from a single study. This represents the continued and growing consensus among scientists across many different studies: As a father, you matter.
Fathers need persuasive arguments
Still, if you are facing a child custody battle, you might need more than good science on your side. Tennessee courts consider many different factors in your case before they issue a final decision on custody and visitation matters.
One of the most important factors is the best interest of your children. Will a mountain of studies showing the benefit of your presence (and the potential harm of your absence) be enough? It depends on the details of your case.
The fact is that most divorce cases never go before a judge, and yours might not either. The person you have to convince might be your co-parent, not a disinterested third party. Showing that you truly prioritize the future of your children could go a long way toward creating common ground.
