I refer to the report, '$25m plan to help families in trouble' (Feb12), and the related issue of divorce and single parenting.
I believe fathers are as important to children as mothers. Fathers are, in most cases, no less capable of parenting and have the means to support the children.
Singapore and Western societies are too long in the thrall of the feminine mystique, where we overrate the importance of the presence and control of the mother in a broken family.
The idea of joint custody - where legal and physical custody of the child after the divorce is shared equally between the two parents - should be considered by society before more children are legally deprived of their fathers by the courts.
Joint custody for the father will cut down the necessity of having the man pay maintenance to the ex-wife for raising the child, and eliminate the non-payment of such maintenance, and the poverty the child would have to bear.
For the male child, the equal presence of the father is sure to be advantageous for his well-being.
Seow It Sze
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
As per The New Paper report on 5 Jul "In the end, blocking access will hurt child", it seems that the Family Court does not have an effective measure to help alienated parents bond with their children. And it is sad to see loving parents being continually oppressed and deprived to such an extent that they had no choice but to give up on their own flesh and blood.
If the Family Court and Government put the paramount interest of children first, they should do more to improve the situation.
Alfred Christensen