When is Supervised Visitation the Most Appropriate Choice?
You’ve gotten divorced from your spouse and now you believe that their negative behavior is affecting your child in devastating ways. You don’t want this to follow them through their life, so you decide that maybe restricting their time with your child will benefit all sides. You’ve heard a bit about supervised visitation but might want to know more. How can we help?
When Supervised Visitation is Necessary
Yes, the courts believe that both parents having a relationship with the child is best for them. But what happens if seeing their other parent is having detrimental effects on their life? Then, supervised visitation might be the only option for you. Here are some reasons for supervised visitation:
Violence and Emotional Harm: If a parent is abusing or threatening a child, it could lead to supervised visits. The same can be said for a parent who causes emotional harm to their child. If a child is extremely upset around a parent due to their behavior, the courts might limit their time together.
Mental Illness: Just because a parent suffers from mental illness does not mean that they are unfit and will automatically lose rights to their child. However, if the mental illness causes harm to the child, it could lead to supervised visits.
Abandonment: If the parent fails to establish a real relationship with the child, visitation could be limited.
Addiction: Substance abuse can have a negative impact on a child as well, especially if it involves abusive language, driving drunk with a child in the car, or mistreating the child.
Incarceration: Jail visits could negatively affect the welfare of the child as well.
Parent’s behavior can sometimes raise red flags to the court, which could lead to supervised visitation or visitation being taken away completely. They might choose to prohibit visits for this reason until things change or restrict when and where a parent can see their child. You love your child and want to look out for their well-being, which is why it is important to consider visitation matters if you believe your child is being mistreated. Let us help.