Rotating contact may be detrimental to infants

If you have a child under 24 months old and you are seeking a divorce, finding a contact schedule that satisfies parents and child may be difficult. Although there is a trend for parents to try a rotating contact schedule with their children, rotating contact may be detrimental to infants and children younger than 24 months.

Recent research shows that babies who live alternatively with their divorced parents develop long-lasting psychological problems. In fact research now suggests that infants who are caught in the parents plan of alternating their primary residence, develop alarming levels of emotional insecurity and poor ability to regulate strong emotion as adults because these arrangements do not provide a "secure predictable existence with their primary attachment figure be that the father or the mother. "

Rather than providing security and comfort to babies that both parents love them, the research showed that a prolonged absence from the primary caregiver confused infants, especially when their parents were in conflict. Attachment was normal however for infants with regular access to their non-residential parent, but no overnight visits.