06 Dec Why do the family and juvenile dependency courts routinely separate siblings from each other?
Divide and conquer is my best guess. Remember the Parent Trap, the movie that Lindsay Lohan debuted in as both twin girls? The family court separated the twin girls and the parents raised each twin, that he/she had custody of, on different continents. Each parent created their own “mini-me” from their twin girl. There are so many things that are wrong about doing this. The most important ones show up at the end of the movie where the girls join forces and protect each other from the harm their divorced parents did to them. At the same time, the girls release their parents from the harm they are doing to themselves and to the other parent.
Children are incredibly unique individuals. Not only do they have their own fingerprints and DNA, they also have their own personalities. A parent soon understands this when the child turns age 18, if the parent has done his/her job right, and the children have turned into caring, responsible, respectful adults. Does the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, the AFCCnet of colluding judges, attorneys, psychologists, child custody evaluators, mediators, forensic investigators, etc. advocate for sibling support? Nope, they say that social science and child development research over the past four decades is still being done to determine the risk and resilience of siblings separated by the family and juvenile dependency courts. What do I say? Do everything you can to foster sibling relationships. Keep all loving adults engaged in siblings lives. Let them sort it out from there, #NoAFCC.