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Absent Abandonment, Abuse or Neglect of a Child, Should the State Sit in Judgment, Second-Guessing a Parent?s Decision as to What is in that Parent?s Child?s Best Interests?

By Janet Langjahr

Issue presented: absent abandonment, abuse or neglect of a child, should the state sit in judgment, second-guessing a parent’s decision as to what is in that parent’s child’s best interests?

Some recent Canadian court decisions:

“The case involved a separated father who had been granted custody of his 12-year-old daughter. He had refused to let her go on a school trip for chatting on websites he disapproved of, and because she had posted images of herself online which he deemed “inappropriate”.

“The girl objected, the lawyer appointed to represent her interests after the parents’ separation intervened, and the father was taken to court. The court found in favour of the girl on the basis that the punishment was too severe.”

I recently posted on another Canadian decision Canadian Children Taken Into Protective Custody To Save Them From ? Parents? Offensive Political Views striking a similar chord.

The editorialist criticizes an alarming trend toward “nationalisation” of children - and opposes it taking root in his country, Ireland, in the name of a proposed amendment to the Irish constitution characterized as “protecting children’s rights”.

Read more in this Irish Independent article: Parents the best judges of what’s good for a child.

Full post as published by Florida Divorce - Child Custody - Domestic Abuse Law on September 18, 2008 (boomark / email).