You have a newborn, and you know that their father should play a role in their life. You and he have not been together for several months, but he has said that he’d like some custody time with your child. He intends to be a good father to your child, but you’re not sure where to begin.
With an infant, child custody can be very difficult. Psychologically, it’s known that early attachment and bonding can be affected if they’re kept apart from either parent for long. Traditional custody arrangements may not be a good idea in this case.
How can you provide the best custody arrangement for an infant?
For young infants, it’s important to try to keep them in a stable environment. They may be too young to stay overnight with dad, even if bottles can be prepared. A better alternative is to have the child’s father visit at the mother’s home or in a supervised location, depending on the situation. Those visits could happen more regularly, around once or twice a day, for example, while fathers bond with their children.
As your child gets older, you’ll be able to increase the amount of time you’re apart. While an infant usually shouldn’t be away from its primary caregiver for longer than two hours at a time, older children may be able to spend more time apart.
Your goal should be to work together to come up with a schedule that takes your child’s early developmental needs into consideration. For now, it may be best if both parents can work together to have custody time in the same place or very nearby.
