Children's Bill of Rights

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Children's Bill of Rights

List composed by attorney Rob V. Robertson

Marriage is a contract between adults, and when it ends, the matter is between the adults also. Yet no parental action has a greater impact on children. Children love their parents and want to be with them. Even in times of great stress, parents have a responsibility to conduct their legal affairs in a manner that will protect their children from adult conflicts.
At a minimum, children are entitled to the following Bill of Rights:

1. Neither parent shall deny the child reasonable use of the telephone to place and receive calls with the other parent and relatives.

2. Neither parent shall speak or write derogatory remarks about the other parent to the child, or engage in abusive, coarse or foul language, which can be overheard by the child whether or not the language involves the other parent.

3. Neither parent shall permit the children to overhear arguments, negotiations or other substantive discussions about legal or business dealings between the parents.

4. Neither parent shall physically or psychologically attempt to pressure, attempt to influence, pressure or influence the children concerning the personal opinion or position of the child concerning legal proceedings between the parents.

5. Each parent will permit the child to display photographs of the other parent or both parents in the child's room.

6. Neither parent shall communicate moral judgments about the other parent to the child concerning the other parent's choice of values, lifestyle, choice of friends, successes or failures in life (career, financial, relational) or residential choice.

7. The parents will acknowledge to the child that the child has two homes although the child may spend more time at one home than the other.

8. The parents shall cooperate to the greatest extent practicable in sharing time with the child.

9. Each parent will permit the child to retain, and allow easy access to, correspondence, greeting cards, and other written materials received from the other parent.

10. Each parent will respect the physical integrity of items possessed by the child which depict the other parent or remind the child of the other parent.

11. Neither parent will trivialize, or deny the existence of the other parent to the child.

12. Neither parent will interrogate the child about the other parent nor will either parent discourage comments by the child about the other parent.

13. Neither parent will intercept, "lose", derail, "forget" or otherwise interfere with communications to the child from the other parent.

14. Neither parent will refuse to acknowledge that the child can have or should have good experiences with the other parent.

15. Neither parent will directly or indirectly attack or criticize to the child the extended family of the other parent, the other parent's career, the living and travel arrangements of the other parent, or lawful activities of the other parent or associates of the other parent.

16. Neither parent will use the child as a "middleman" by using the child to communicate with the other parent on inappropriate topics.

17. Neither parent will undermine the other parent in the eyes of the child by engaging in the "circumstantial syndrome" which is done by manipulating, changing, or rearranging facts.

18. Neither parent will create for, or exaggerate to, the child differences between the parents.

19. Neither parent will say and do things with an eye to gaining the child as an "ally" against the other parent.

20. Neither parent will encourage or instruct the child to be disobedient to the other parent, stepparents, or relatives.

21. Neither parent will reward the child to act negatively toward the other parent.

22. Neither parent will try to make the child believe he or she loves the child more than the other parent, by, for example, saying that he or she loves the child more than the other parent or over-informing the child on adult topics or overindulging the child.

23. Neither parent will discuss child support issues with the child.

24. Neither parent will engage in judgmental, opinionated or negative commentary, physical inspections or interrogations once the child arrives from his/her other home.

25. Neither parent will "rewrite" or "re-script" facts which the child originally knows to be different.

26. Neither parent will punish the child physically or threaten such punishment in order to influence the child to adopt the parent's negative program, if any, against the other parent.

27. Neither parent will permit the child to be transported by a person who is intoxicated due to consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs.

28. Neither parent will smoke tobacco materials inside structures or vehicles occupied at the time by the child.

29. Each parent will permit the child to carry gifts, toys, clothing, and other items belonging to the child with him or her to the residence of the other parent or relatives or permit the child to take gifts, toys, clothing, and other items belonging to the child back to the residence of the other parent, as the case may be, to facilitate the child having with him or her objects, important to the child. The gifts, toys, clothing and other items belonging to the child referred to here mean items which are reasonable transportable and does not include pets (which the parents agree are impractical to move about).

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Last Modified: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 11:38 AM

Children's Bill of Rights, Travis County, Texas



What do you think of all this list above ? Do you agree with all of this ?

Discuss! :)
 
What atty Rob V. Robertson did is to protect child's interests and make sure child are in good path in family social. He did a good thought BUT

But here is the sad thing

Will parents be willing to do what law say? or behind the closed door and denied child's right?
 
It looks good on paper. But in reality, every situation is different and unique. For example, some parents should not have contact with a child or should only have limited and supervised visits.
 
On the other hand, there are some great parents who are being denied the right to be parents because of their ex-spouses or psycho judges. And that pisses me off to no end.
 
Interesting that the first 6 words in this document says, "Marriage is a contract between adults,"........

And this attorney recognizes that.

Nothing about same sex/opposite sex couples. :)
 
Deaf Bajagal:

You are absolutely right. The parents that will act responsibly and in the child's best interest don't need to be reminded that these precautions are necessary. They are already doing it. The ones that don't will not be much influenced by laws such as these, because in reality, there is no way to enforce such laws. Better than laws such as these would be a recommendation for post-divorce counseling for both parents and the child in order to insure that these parents understand the effect their actions have on their kids, and that the kids understand that they are not responsible for their parents misguided actions.

And it is true that there are those cases where the other parent should not have contact with the children except under supervision. Often, that is the reason for the divorce to begin with.

Byrdie,

Good catch! Yes, this would be in reference to same sex couples as well! This attorney was very forward thinking in making sure his language reflected that!
 
These "rules" are already in place...it's just common sense.

If a parent has to have it written down for them to follow, then something's wrong.
 
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