A recent article in Marie Claire magazine narrates the stories of three divorced mothers who gave up custody of their children—Maria Housden left her girls to their father in order to recover from the death of one of her daughters, Elle Hull decided to leave her kids with her ex-husband so that she could rebuild her formerly-falling apart life, and Rebekah Spicuglia gave up custody in order to go back to school.
A father gaining sole-custody is an outcome of divorce that seems shocking to many; we usually just assume that the father becomes the “weekend” parent, while the mother inherits the kids full-time — but why? These stories remind us that it’s not the gender that matters when it comes to caring for kids, but the amount one has to give to his or her children at the time. If the father is in a better position to be the primary caretaker of his kids, it seems ridiculous that we would keep him from doing that. After reading the complicated post-divorce situations involving these three mothers, it becomes clear that these women aren’t selfish, neglectful human beings, they’re just trying to do what’s best for their children. And what’s more maternal than that? [Marie Claire]
