Here is an article that I was reading that needs to be shared with courts and those working on family court reform!!!
LETS GET RID OF `THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD’. Charles Pragnell
The term, `the best interests of the child’ was first brought into common usage by the Third Reich regime in Germany as an almost euphemistic distraction for the atrocities that regime committed on children.
It was then adopted by the United Nations in 1948 for more common usage in international convention on human rights, but because different nations had different ideas about what was in children’s `Best interests’, then it was left imprecise and to whatever the interpretation each country chose to make.
The term `Best interests of the child’ does not therefor have any form of precise definition nor criteria by which such determinations can be made. When it is included in laws it is not given any legal definition and it is left to individual judges to determine at their absolute discretion what they consider appropriate in each set of circumstances.
The consequences are, and will continue to be, that such determinations will be highly subjective and reliant on the personal beliefs, values, and attitudes of each judge, who is not required to state how such decision was reached or how the child’s best interests will be served by the judge’s determinations. Everyone has personal biases, prejudices, and idiosyncracies and judges are no exception. However they lack the knowledge of children’s growth and development and the importance of how their needs are best met at different life stages.
This is the fundamental issue which is resulting in so many irrational and illogical decisions being made in Family Courts regarding the future care and welfare of children and the risks of harm which they may face.
I would suggest it is long overdue that the “Best interests of the Child’’ be abandoned and be replaced with more precise criteria and definition and I would offer the following for discussion:-
“That decisions concerning the future care and welfare of children must demonstrably and measurably meet each child’s Emotional, Physical, Psychological, Intellectual, Social, and Spiritual Needs and the child’s emotional attachment to a parent must be the paramount consideration in determining where the child will live and whether, or not, the child continues to have a continuing relationship with a parent who has significantly failed to meet the child’s needs and to respect the child as a unique individual.”
This article brings up truth about “who and what” determines “best interest of the child” in family court. We know that judges are not trained appropriately to make this determination and still fail to consult with those who are trained appropriately. So what do you think about who should decide “Best Interests of the Children” in family court?
