[delnoire]

Reading the thread about the woman taking her daughters on vacation, it reminded me of something I've been meaning to get to thebottom of. Why is it that when the mother and father have joint-custody, the mother (most of the time) is still considered to be the custodial parent. Is it determined strictly by where the child stays more? My ex and I are pretty much equal in every aspect of parental authority, custody-wise. The only thing different is that she spends slightly more time at her mother's then with me. Yet on the documents it states that she is the custodial parent.

[quankanne]

I think it's more about the judge deciding who can better care for a child's needs at that age. If you had teenagers, esp. a teenage son who'd need a father's discipline and you were in a position to care/provide for his particular needs, that kid would go with you. I think in general, smaller/younger kids have moms as custodial parents because their needs are way different and most women would have less of a challenge meeting those needs than a dad does. Not that dads are bad or idiots, but they seem to have a harder time getting down to a little kid's level, and an easier time with older kids who are capable of caring for themselves and able to communicate more easily than a little bitty one.