| Posted by jennyshelley On Thursday 22 February 2007 Quote |
Marriage lessons? - A new report reveals that the number of Britons choosing to marry is now the lowest since records began in 1862. I don't need to remind you of the alleged damage that 'broken homes' cause to society. So in order to remedy this state of affairs the Tory party is looking into emulating the US and Australia in providing 'relationship centres' that encourage marriage and help couples to stay together once they have had children. While I am sure that the intention of supporting couples is well-meant, I cannot help a twinge of insubordination coming on. Am I alone in feeling that this interest in becoming involved in people's personal relationships is just a tad patronising? What do you think? |
| Posted by mrobinson_tcm On Friday 23 February 2007 Quote |
Can you legislate for love? I'd agree with Jenny and say you can't. A greater availability of Relate style couple counselling services couldn't do any harm, and for some may help repair a relationship in crisis. A greater availability of counselling is a better solution than 'tax incentives for married couples to encourage them to stay together'. You couldn't call the politician who thought up that gem 'a romantic fool'! Children are unhappy when they're in an environment where parents are unhappy, bitter and stressed. Long, drawn out divorces with battles over finances, residence and contact issues make a bad situation worse. Call me a little cynical, but barristers and solicitors have a vested interest in maintaining our current adversarial system and I think politicians lack the foresight to change a system which clearly increases conflict. Since the current political debate has come about following the UK's poor rating in the UNICEF Child Wellbeing Report, perhaps the Conservatives should look at the countries who came top. The Netherlands and Sweden (which came first in a similar OECD Survey) have both brought in shared residence for children as the standard outcome in divorce cases. Could it be that a less acrimonious divorce leads to less parental hostility, easier access to both parents, and happier children? As a wise woman once said to me... "it's not whether you separate that matters, it's how." |
