The Tender Years Clause stipulates that in the event of divorce, all children under six years old will automatically live with the mother. Divorce is a "weapon used by mothers...to improve their economic status... [we must] cancel the presumption that...a father is only an ATM machine."

screwdirections · 2012-05-29T16:05:52+00:00

I am a product of a divorced marriage and my dad was completely screwed over years and years of court battle. We had to wait until I was 13 I believe before I was able to say that I wanted to live with my dad.

Sad..really.

gblakes · 2012-05-29T14:26:36+00:00

At least in the USA this archaic "Law" is no longer officially implemented even though in practicality it is still alive and well.

Ruleseventysix · 2012-05-29T18:42:24+00:00

I'm pretty offended by the "automatic teller machine machine" part.

Alanna · 2012-05-29T15:44:21+00:00

They often claim that the presumption of maternal custody is patriarchal and sexist and nothing to do with them.

Feminist activism in the 1800s lead to the tender years doctrine.

Scraw · 2012-05-30T01:07:32+00:00

This is the product of a patriarchal society where men are viewed as the pillars of society and women are relegated to being stereotyped as caregivers. Men, we shot ourselves, and society, in the foot for the last few thousand years.

SabineLavine · 2012-05-30T01:34:01+00:00

It makes sense to me to give mothers custody if the child is under two, but much past that is wrong. And in cases where the mother has been deemed unfit, I don't think there should be any age clause.

munchhausen · 2012-05-29T18:19:04+00:00

It's wrong that the law unfairly favors women. These cases should be considered on a case by case basis. The sad truth however is that women are more nurturing and present for their children statistically than men are. In addition to fighting to make the law more fair to men we should also be fighting to get fathers to be better fathers. I know quite a few men that could legally play a bigger role in their children's lives but choose not to.