Saturday, August 02, 2003

So apparently divorce agreements are starting to include clauses on very specific elements of parenting. The problem with this is that kids change, circumstances change, kids gain the ability to make decisions for themselves long before they reach age of majority. Then what happens? So one parent is in charge of medical decisions. But then the kid grows up, becomes sexually active, and feels she can confide better in the other parent about her birth control needs. So one parent has the legal right to take charge of the child's religious education and the other has to comply with those decisions. So when the kid decides he doesn't want to go to church any more, would the non-decision making parent be in trouble for not forcing him to go? So the children aren't allowed to sit in car seats with airbags until they reach a certain height. Suppose one of them is an inch below that height, but she gets carsick if she can't sit in the front. And I have no idea what this height might be. Suppose it's 5'2", and the kid stops growing at 5'1" and want to learn how to drive. What if the non-custodial parent is in charge of educational decisions, and then the kid wants or needs to change schools?

Supposedly this is helping to focus on parental responsibilities, but it sounds to me like it's just taking more rights away from the kid. Ideally they should have a clause that the kid can overrule or amend any aspect of the agreement for any moderately good reason.

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