It’s a simple question… ‘Do our Parents have Rights over our Children?‘
… and there’s a simple answer!
Now, I’m not about to set out a legal argument to support my position because as I’m sure you’ll know, any legal buff worth his salt could take either side and put forward an argument and win. No, I’m just going to say it like it is.
The only person who really has ‘rights’ over the children are the children themselves. Their rights are well known (and new ones are coming out every day) and are protected by law and the courts.
We as parents have few if any, ‘rights’ over our children! It’s more a case of parents having a ‘responsibility’ over their children, a responsibility of protecting and enforcing the child’s rights, sort of a custodial position until the child is able to interpret and understand their rights themselves.
So where does this leave the grandparents? What ‘rights’ should they have over the grandchildren when the parents have no ‘rights’ so to speak, over the children? Quite simply – none!
Let me give you an example.
Visitation rights. Should grandparents expect to be allowed to visit their grandchild on a regular basis? Do they have a right to visit their grandchild? The answer is NO! They have no right to visitation.
Should the child want to visit their grandparents then YES as parents we have a responsibility to make this happen until such time as the child can make it happen themselves. Should the grandparents want to visit their grandchild but the child is too young to understand or make a decision then the decision rests with the child’s custodian of his or her rights, ie the child’s parents and the answer could be NO!
The reality is Grandparents have no ‘rights’ over our children and any influence, interaction or control they may enjoy with and over their grandchild is a courtesy extended to them by the child’s parents – sorry!
QED
Tags: grandparents rights