Fathers, Fathers, Fathers: Look after your children

The man whose rights I protected today (36% of the parenting time accomplished; joint legal and joint physical custody accomplished; substantial, equally allocated holiday time accomplished) came to me a year ago with one mandate: I want as much time with my daughter as I can get.

His case became complicated when financial circumstances forced him to take a night job, so our hope for 50/50 shared time could not, in all practicality, be realized. But he left court a happy man, and his parents were by his side, grateful that their hard work at raising him to be a responsible adult paid off.

The mother, in her tight pink sweater, her Jersey-girl hairstyle, with her monied parents by her side, smirked on the witness stand -- but that's okay. She's into her 3rd DUI, and if Daddy's Money hadn't saved her time and again, she'd be in jail. She might be yet, but the plan provides for Dad to get full placement if she goes.

Fathers, fathers, fathers: Look after your children. The system might still be biased against you -- no, IS still biased against you -- but many of us recognize your importance to children, and many of us will fight for you.