 Questions & Answers About Parenting
Is Single Parenting a Viable Option?
God's design for children is that both their mother and father living together raise them. Any other arrangement is second best. However, that does not mean that a child cannot grow up to be a productive, well-adjusted, healthy individual in other family circumstances. Single Parenting is demanding and taxing. Make sure that you have plenty of support if you plan to raise your baby alone.
Will I Need to Establish Paternity for my Child?
When the mother and father of a child are not married, establishing paternity creates a legal relationship between the father and child. Establishing paternity is necessary to receive child support as well as to be able to establish legal parameters around custody and visitation. Paternity is either established through a court process with a paternity test or through both parents signing a paternity affidavit. Paternity must be established before a court will order child support payments for a child born to an unmarried mother.
For more information on establishing paternity visit: WA State DSHS Paternity info
For more information on the process of acquiring child support visit: WA State DSHS Child Support info Will I Need a Parenting Plan Approved through the Courts?
Legally both parents have equal rights to custody and parenting time. A father and mother can agree on these issues without the courts getting involved. However, without a parenting plan approved through the courts, such agreements are not enforceable. If you are establishing paternity through the courts (not signing a parenting affidavit) then a parenting plan can be entered into court through the same office once the court has established paternity if the parents agree on the parenting plan.
How Important are Fathers?
A number of studies have been done on the importance of Fathers. Here are some findings:
Father-child interaction has been shown to promote a child's physical well-being, perceptual abilities, and competency for relatedness with others, even at a young age.
The single most important childhood factor in developing empathy is paternal involvement. Fathers who spent time alone with their kids performing routine childcare at least two times a week, raised children who were the most compassionate adults. Children who live with only one parent have lower grade point averages, lower college aspirations, poor attendance records, and higher drop out rates than students who lived with both parents. Children in single-parent families are two to three times as likely as children in two-parent families to have emotional and behavioral problems.
For more information on the importance of fathers to children visit:
Fathers web site - Effects
Fathers web site - Consequences
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