Feb. 11, 2019-Myths v. Facts #8

8. Myth: A rebuttable presumption of equal shared parenting is not appropriate for infants and toddlers.

Facts:

I. The science is overwhelmingly in favour of equal parenting arrangements for infants and toddlers and has recently been revalidated through an international consensus. There are ways to support equal parenting of infants and toddlers in order to achieve that goal – the practical impediments can overcome with a proper judicially imposed structure and logistics.

II. Science has proven that infants and toddlers are capable of multiple primary attachments and that their outcomes are better as a result i.e. the more caregivers the better, such a grandparents, new partners as well as their biological parents. The old adage of “it takes a village to raise a child” applies equally well after separation and there is no benefit in searching for a “primary” parent – indeed the science is strongly against that. Objections to equal shared parenting for infants and toddlers are based on outdated and unsupported assumptions that have been refuted by the current science.

Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on Bill C-78 by the Canadian Association for Equality and Brian Ludmer, B.Comm, LLB. – Myths and Facts Concerning a Rebuttable Presumption of Equal Shared Parenting, 27 November 2018

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