Parenting Plans for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers: Research and Issues

Abstract

In the debate over parenting plans for infants and toddlers, a central question is whether these very young children should spend overnight time away from their mothers in their fathers’ care. This article summarizes and critiques the 11 empirical studies that have addressed this question. Overall, overnighting was not associated with negative outcomes for infants and toddlers and was associated with positive outcomes for preschoolers.

KEYWORDS:

• infant overnighting
• infant parenting plans
• joint custody
• parenting plans
• shared care
• shared custody
• shared physical custody
• shared residential custody