Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

When did 50/50 become so common?

698 replies

Luckylooloostar · 28/02/2024 22:24

I have a SC and when contact was set up over 13 years ago it was really common to do EOW with maybe a night in the week. No mention of 50/50 ever. Really common among others too around that time.

but Iv noticed a trend over the last few years that seems to be when you split its now 50/50…

Do more men now want this so they don’t have to pay CMS?

OP posts:
BaaBaaBlackSheepOfTheFam · 29/02/2024 09:41

4610J · 29/02/2024 09:21

Me too.

It must be hard for men to only see the children EOW if the Mum has remarried another man. The other man having more time with the children than the Dad.

Would be hard for me too. However if it was that hard for them to have another man seeing their kid more than they do then they can always step up and be real men and see their kids more than EOW.

NameChanged112 · 29/02/2024 09:40

Luckylooloostar · 28/02/2024 22:30

Let’s be honest... We all know some men do 50/50 to avoid CMS 😂

This is crap. I work in family law and have seen multiple women withhold contact to protect their cms payment. the fathers who battle on regardless and waste thousands in legal fees because of an unreasonable mother are doing it because they love their children. i have seen women fabricate crimes to get legal aid funding too. i have never come across a father who has sought more contact to reduce cms payments. what a twisted way to view it.

tryingtohelp82 · 29/02/2024 09:39

@4610J I can't even imagine what that would feel like. My kids bring us so much happiness and they love hanging out with us equally. Kids need good regular male role models in their lives.
50/50 is definitely becoming more normal. School pickups are maybe 60/40 mums to dads. Modern generations of men are more connected to their kids generally.

BaaBaaBlackSheepOfTheFam · 29/02/2024 09:37

bombastix · 29/02/2024 08:26

You would be amazed at the women who think this situation doesn't reflect on their new partner at all

Sadly nothing shocks me anymore at how low some women will set their bar.

WinkyTinky · 29/02/2024 09:34

Ok I haven't rtft but my reaction to 50/50 is, what about those of us at the end of our tether and considering separation due to the parenting historically being 95/5 mum/dad? I would hate it and my kids would hate it, as they've lived their whole lives with me as the default parent and their dad as a passenger. I've been putting off taking the leap for years as I don't want them living between two houses, never really a home. I'm not man-bashing or dad-bashing, that's the reality in my case.

mrsdineen2 · 29/02/2024 09:26

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

So you're claiming there are no forums, no Facebook groups, where feckless fathers bullshit and complain about these things?

I know these groups and their posts are horseshit, but they definitely meet your standards of "evidence" as per your posts.

Luckylooloostar · 29/02/2024 09:25

bittertwisted · 29/02/2024 09:16

OP does your husband not want to see your SC more than EOW? Would you not like to have SC more often?

SC is a teen now and more into hanging with mates/shopping/hobbies/job then coming here or even staying at her mums.

OP posts:
Chocolatebuttonns · 29/02/2024 09:23

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

How is it making stuff up? There are literally forums dedicated to this stuff.

It doesn't make any of it true.

True for a minority maybe. But you knowing a handful of men who've done it doesn't mean that's the reason they all do it.

Just as me knowing no men who have done it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Luckylooloostar · 29/02/2024 09:22

PuddlesPityParty · 29/02/2024 09:21

You said you and your husband weren’t separated but if you were you wouldn’t want 50/50 I just misread what you put. Thanks for telling me what I can and can’t misread though, super useful! Should make it your job 🤩

Il add it to my CV😍

OP posts:
PuddlesPityParty · 29/02/2024 09:21

Luckylooloostar · 29/02/2024 06:54

You can’t misread what I didn’t type as I haven’t once mentioned an ex that I have. Your point was all about how you felt sorry for my ex and kids. 😂

You said you and your husband weren’t separated but if you were you wouldn’t want 50/50 I just misread what you put. Thanks for telling me what I can and can’t misread though, super useful! Should make it your job 🤩

4610J · 29/02/2024 09:21

tryingtohelp82 · 29/02/2024 09:08

Ever wonder why so many men are depressed.. my ex would hate not seeing his kids equally and having an equal parental role. The mark of a true man.
I actually feel sick at the thought of only seeing my kids EOW.

Me too.

It must be hard for men to only see the children EOW if the Mum has remarried another man. The other man having more time with the children than the Dad.

Luckylooloostar · 29/02/2024 09:19

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

mrsdineen2 · 29/02/2024 09:17

Luckylooloostar · 29/02/2024 09:13

Peoples experience is evidence. It’s real life. It happens. Sitting there and denying it doesn’t make it any less true.

We could go to a different forum and find reams of "evidence" of "people's experience" that CMS are anti-men, that child support is extortionate, and that the poor blokes shouldn't have to pay more than a fiver since she has to run a home either way.

That would be bullshit of course, but it passes your evidential tests.

4610J · 29/02/2024 09:16

Luckylooloostar · 29/02/2024 08:38

Not really. The parents do and little kids have to do what parents want.

The young child in our family (not my child) loves being with her Mum & Dad 50/50. She would miss her dad terribly if she only saw him EOW. The arrangement was definitely not done to avoid the dad paying the Mum. The parents are grown up about the situation and both work full time.

She doesn't feel like she's been trudged from one house to another. She gets excited when it's time to go and loves both her parent's partners.

We had my DH's children twice a week and he paid money to their Mum so not EOW either.

bittertwisted · 29/02/2024 09:16

OP does your husband not want to see your SC more than EOW? Would you not like to have SC more often?

OrlandointheWilderness · 29/02/2024 09:14

Possibly @TealSapphire you should've stopped at your first sentence - "I don't know your circumstances". That is correct. You don't. YOU have an ex who is making excuses etc. that is YOUR situation, it is not everyone else's. DP has sorted it for flexible working, we are fully prepared to go 50/50 and DSS wants too as well - we are led by what he wishes to do. His mum refuses as her DP isn't comfortable with the increased involvement.
Don't tar everyone with the same myopic brush.

Luckylooloostar · 29/02/2024 09:13

Gatorpickle · 29/02/2024 09:10

Anecdata do not equal evidence.

Just because a self-selected number of people on a message board share their experience, it does not make a statement true across the board, which is what you are attempting - and failing - to do.

Peoples experience is evidence. It’s real life. It happens. Sitting there and denying it doesn’t make it any less true.

OP posts:
user1471556818 · 29/02/2024 09:12

Actually the only person I knew who did 50.50 was a really devoted dad who truly wanted the time with his son .However it became more complex as son got older and couldn't answer where he lived , what his address was .It did a bit of a number on the boy tbh and eventually they spent longer with the mum for more structure in their life .
I've also seen a couple of mums who have kids Mon to Fri and kid goes to dad's every weekend . That seems really unfair

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 29/02/2024 09:12

Luckylooloostar · 29/02/2024 09:02

It really doesn’t but I don’t feel the need to sit here and defend him to strangers on the internet 😂 Crack on thinking whatever you like.

Of course you don't have to defend him.

The fact remains that, if you can't conceive of the idea that men wouldn't want 50/50 for reasons other than money, it suggests that you are not used to seeing men who have close, loving relationships with their children and engage in lots of hands-on parenting.

If you were in a relationship with someone who was a really involved, equal parent, I don't think the "not having to pay CMS" argument would even occur to you. Especially as a true 50/50 arrangement would often be more expensive anyway.

Flamingogirl08 · 29/02/2024 09:11

WaitingForMojo · 29/02/2024 08:55

My children haven’t gravitated to one home as teens. If anything they are closer to 50/50 than they were when younger, as they don’t need childcare.

It hasn’t been destabilising here

Yeah same here. Now DSD is older she just has a key and comes and goes as she pleases on top of agreed days she stays with us. I don't think she feels unstable.

It definitely can work if the parents work together to make sure it does. We live close by as well so its pretty easy.

I don't think DSD would prefer EOW as she chooses to stay with us sometimes even outside the "agreed" times. She is also really close to her little sister and I can't imagine them only seeing each other EOW.

I think it's so weird to criticise parents for doing 50/50 and stating its not fair on the child. Stay with your partner then if a traditional family is the gold standard. Otherwise we're all just doing our best.

mrsdineen2 · 29/02/2024 09:11

tryingtobenormalish · 29/02/2024 08:50

🙄

Oh dear.

Gatorpickle · 29/02/2024 09:10

Luckylooloostar · 29/02/2024 09:03

Are you unable to read the multiple posts confirming it’s true…

Anecdata do not equal evidence.

Just because a self-selected number of people on a message board share their experience, it does not make a statement true across the board, which is what you are attempting - and failing - to do.

tryingtohelp82 · 29/02/2024 09:08

Ever wonder why so many men are depressed.. my ex would hate not seeing his kids equally and having an equal parental role. The mark of a true man.
I actually feel sick at the thought of only seeing my kids EOW.

Chocolatebuttonns · 29/02/2024 09:06

Luckylooloostar · 29/02/2024 09:04

Like Iv already said men loved their kids back 10-20 years ago too. The default was still EOW.

But that was because of women working less, earning less. That isn't (shouldn't be) the case now.

Men should no longer be the secondary parent. You're obviously weirdly happy with that and that's fine I suppose if you and your husband agree but spouting all this shite about people only doing it to get out of maintenance (which is apparently fuck all anyway) is bollocks.

I am sure there are some parents who do. But why would you in all honesty. It's much harder work actually looking after a child.

Equally there are some mothers who use their children as weapons and restrict access to ensure the highest level of maintenance, but you don't see people making threads about them.

Luckylooloostar · 29/02/2024 09:05

WaitingForMojo · 29/02/2024 08:58

You can say what you like, yes.

I disagree, with actual experience of it. We’re not quite 50/50 but close to it, more so as the children get older. I don’t feel that less of a relationship with their other parent could ever be in their interests. That would obviously be different if he wasn’t a good dad.

So you are not actually 50/50 and it’s only become that way as they got older. Right.

OP posts: