Legal Question in Family Law in New Mexico

It depends on what is your goal as to your child. There are some who would say if your intention is to create a psychopath then, by all means, do what you ask about. However, if your goal is to raise a healthy well adjusted child who will grow into a normal functioning adult then the guidelines in the NM Family Law Manual might be helpful. I have taken a couple of paragraphs from that manual and inserted them as follows:

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PARENTING TIME SCHEDULES

The key variables in parenting time are the age of the child, the level of conflict of the pa

rents, and the distance between the parents. Other important variables are the temperament and special needs of the child, involvement of third parties, and the similarity between households.

Age: Children�s needs for parenting time vary greatly at different ages. Most developmental specialists acknowledge that, at a minimum, parenting time will change as children�s needs

change at these general intervals:

(a) Birth and 18 months;

(b) 18 months and 36 months;

(c) Three and five years;

(d) Six and nine years;

(e) Ten and twelve years; and

(f) Teenage years.

Other variables are possible, of course, but these represent major developmental stages.

A general rule of thumb: the younger the child, the more frequent and shorter the parenting time for the non-custodial parent. For infants of less than two years, having a primary caretaker, usually the Mother, is essential to meet development need. This can be difficult for Fathers to accept or agree to. As children age, longer visits and fewer transitions become more important.

Level of Conflict: The higher the conflict, the greater the detail needed in the plan. Do not deceive yourself, however. Parents who want to fight will find a way. If there is extensive

detail, however, the child may at least have a regular schedule.

Distance between parents: When parents live far apart, exchanges that are too frequent and

involve too much transportation time and cost are not in the best interests of the children. If the child is of an age and temperament to tolerate it, fewer, lo nger periods of responsibility are preferred. Also consider the child�s activities: Does the parent have to take the child to regular lessons or practices that are far from the parent�s home?

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The best advice here is bring the matter to court if you cannot get the other parent to move off of a 50/50 time share for an infant.

You can also ask your pediatrician this question as to time share and there are other services in your community that can give you guidance on timeshare schedules for infants.

Hope that helps & Good Luck.

Law Guru