Many people think that children are being a special population. They bring happiness to their parents’ lives. With their appearance in the world, it becomes a brighter and certainly better place. The primary responsibility for children lies on parents. They are obliged “to provide the child necessary maintenance, health care, education and support” ("NRS: Chapter 125B - Obligation of Support" n.p.). As children, due to their age, are often helpless, the government is aimed at protecting the children’s rights with the help of different laws. This paper will deal with child custody laws in particular.
The system of family law is a complex one; it took many years for the child laws in Nevada to acquire the today’s shape. Some people consider it a flawless one. While there still exists a point of view, that these laws are unreliable, as are based on gender bias, that is the custody over children is often given to women ("Criticisms Family Court - Family | Laws.Com" n.p.). Consequently, people believe that child laws in Nevada are not perfect and that there is a need for their revision and improvement. Let us consider the last arguments stating the flaws of child laws.
First of all, it should be stressed that divorce is always a tough time not only for spouses, but also for their child. The child’s psychics very often prove to be not ready for such stress as parents’ divorce. The whole world turns upside down for a child whose parents decided to be separated and to begin the divorce process. In such conditions, the psychological state of the child suffers a lot.
Though Nevada child custody laws are generally known for placing the emphasis on the best interests of the child, this goal is often almost impossible to achieve. The decision about the best interest of the child depends on the judge. Nevertheless, the decision he makes may be wrong, because it is purely subjective. The child is not allowed to be present in court during the divorce process, so it is hard to decide what exactly would be perceived as child’s best interests.
Continuing the argument of the gender bias in courts, it should be said that in the United States of America custody is given more often to mothers than to fathers. At this point the reasonable question arises that may be formulated as follows: ‘Is it fair?’, ‘Is it not a basis for gender discrimination referring to men?’. Surely, the fact that one was born a man, does not mean that he is not able to bring up his child and to assure this child a happy future. One should remember that we are living in the 21st century; many things have changed, namely the men’s readiness and desire to play the role not only of the father, but also partly of the mother. Besides, women earn less than men do, so from the financial perspective child’s life will be easier with a father ("Criticisms Family Court - Family | Laws.Com" n.p.).
In Nevada, courts frequently award parents with joint custody, as the sole physical and legal custody of mothers has been much argued. However, joint custody is also very harmful for a child. The fact that both parents should take part in the process of bringing up their child is without doubt. Nevertheless, there are two sides of the same coin, and the second one seems more argumentative.
The second side of the child laws coin states, that in order to perform joint custody over a child, parents have to be on good, at least friendly terms with each other, as there is a constant need to discuss matters concerning their child and to make joint decisions ("Sharing Custody - Lawyers.Com" n.p.). Hardly few spouses manage to preserve good relationships after the divorce. It always leaves negative feelings and memories, and joint custody is something like playing for one team: if something within the team goes wrong, the game may be lost.
Moreover, joint custody has a number of disadvantages. In joint custody, children have parents who live separately, which means that children have two homes. It will never be possible for them to settle at one place and to enjoy the stable life. With this type of custody, children will always have the feeling of uncertainty.
Besides, if parents live close to each other, the problem will be less significant, but if the parents live far away from each other, it will take much time for the child to travel from one home to another. The next argument against joint custody is showing bad example to their child. As it has already been mentioned, after divorce spouses have complaints to each other, otherwise they would not get divorced ("Sharing Custody - Lawyers.Com" n.p.). Fighting and arguing in the child’s presence may be fatal for the psychological state of the child. He or she may begin to believe that such kind of relationships is generally acceptable, and will imitate such model of behavior in his or her own future relationships, thus repeating the parents’ mistakes and doing more harm than good to the children.
In conclusion it should be said, that in this world nothing and nobody is perfect. Things would go out of order. People would make mistakes, some of which are minor, and others are more significant. Child laws in Nevada are not perfect as well. There is much left for the consideration. Laws are made by human beings, so the human factor plays an important role in their adoption. More attention should be paid to the child laws as they protect the rights of children. Everything possible and everything beyond the boundaries of possibility should be done to protect the lives and the welfare of children, because they deserve the best.
Works Cited
"Criticisms Family Court - Family | Laws.Com". Family.laws.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 May 2016.
"NRS: Chapter 125B - Obligation Of Support". Leg.state.nv.us. N.p., 2013. Web. 8 May 2016.
"Sharing Custody - Lawyers.Com". Family-law.lawyers.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 8 May 2016.
