Guardianship Rights Of A Child Essay

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The adult who is given guardianship of the child makes all decisions for the child such as their living arrangements, who is allowed to see the child, where the child will live and what education the child should receive. All married parents are legal guardians of their children and they share guardianship. When married parents separate though, their guardianship rights, particularly the fathers, may be disputed especially when it comes to the custody of the child. When married parents split, a district court decides how custody is split between the parents even though they are both still legal guardians of the child. Unmarried fathers do not have any guardianship rights. They must apply to the district court under the Status of Children Act 1987 in order to gain …show more content…

This may be as a result of their rights to guardianship and access to their children being recognised by the court. In recent months, new changes have been proposed for unmarried fathers which would allow fathers to become guardians of their children if they have lived with the child’s mother for 12 months, including living with the mother for 3 months after the child has been born. It is a step in the right direction for the rights of unmarried fathers

Parental leave
Work has become the main factor impacting on families and the parenting roles of men and women. The working world is changing the role of fathers as many mothers now work in jobs outside of the home with some fathers now taking on the role as the stay at home parent. During the Celtic tiger years from the mid-1990s to 2008, there was a surge in the number of married women entering the labour force. In 1971 women’s participation rate in the labour force was 28% compared to 53% in 2013. Men had a 68% participation rate in 2013 (CSO, 2013). A system needs to be put in place by the state for parents

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