A Word on Gender

This issue does not just affect men. 

I have used as my primary example the traditional scenario of Dad coming home from work to find his family has simply disappeared, because it appears that the majority of people who are alienated from their children are fathers, but women can also be affected along with grandparents, aunts, uncles, those in same sex relationships and so on. 

When women leave the family home, they often take the children with them. Not all, but most do. When a father leaves the family home, he thinks the children need to stay where they are as they are settled - besides, where is he going to live? How can he look after children if he is homeless or sleeping on his mate's floor? The difference is the mother plans what she is going to do and where she is going to go (and has probably been doing so for months); the father often ups and leaves on the spur of the moment.

Most importantly, it affects the child. Suddenly, a whole half of their family is no longer around. They no longer see one of their parents. They miss their grandparents and cousins etc. How do they react? Often they think it's their fault - 'If only I'd kept my bedroom tidy, Mum would still be here'; 'If only I hadn't told Dad I hated him for not taking me to the match on Saturday, maybe he wouldn't have left'.

At Family Matters we assist both men and women, without prejudice based on their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or any disability they might have. None of these precludes a person from being a good parent. Our primary focus is on the children and getting the best outcome for them in the circumstances. The one thing we do not do, is help one parent remove the other from the lives of the children unless there are good and proper reasons for doing so.