When comparing divorced fathers in the state of Illinois to fathers in other states throughout the nation, one thing is resoundingly clear: Illinois dads receive less parenting time than dads in other states.
According to recently-published research, Illinois kids with divorced parents spend approximately 23.1 percent of their time with their dads every year. This means that Illinois dads rank 47th in terms of time spent with their children when compared to dads in other states.
The study was compiled by Custody X Change, a website dedicated to offering single parents more information about child custody. According to the co-founder of Custody X Change, he said that “it’s quite interesting for the Illinois legislature to look at, to look at how many neighbors we have that are doing things differently and consider, ‘Are we behind the times?'”
While many states throughout the country have begun to enact laws that support parents to have shared parenting arrangements with more equal parenting time split between both sides of the family, Illinois has yet to gather the political resources required to institute these kinds of changes. This has left Illinois and many other states lacking in terms of how they support children to spend as much time as possible with both parents — something that family psychologists and researchers encourage as better for the emotional well-being of children.
When you’re trying to determine what’s best for you and your family, consider fighting for your ability to spend as much time as possible with your kids during your child custody proceedings. In the long run, this will help you and your children develop healthier emotional bonds while supporting your children to have the best kind of parental support they require.
Source: Herald & Review, “Study: Illinois divorced dads have among least amount of time spent with kids,” Vikki Ortiz, June 13, 2018
