I have just read the comments in this thread and as a father whom is facing the prospect of having his son moved out of a realistic weekly reach, i find them to be a little one sided and favouring the mother regardless.
I have a son whom is 4 years old and lives with his mother. We were married before he was born and have subsequently been divorced. As part of the 1.5 year court battle, i have automatic parental responsibilities for him but in all reality, this means nothing.
Because his mother does not feel like i need to know, i don't even know his address, what nursery / school he's attending, his doctors, any allergies or any of that kind of information. She wont speak to me when i collect him or drop him off and 90% of the time she refuses to speak to him in English (she is Chinese) so i don't know what's been said or what's going on.... and don't misunderstand me, i have no issue with her speaking in Chinese to him.... when he is with her, my argument is that she should speak English to him whilst he is at my house, my current partner and i do not speak Chinese and it is important that we understand everything that is going on and being said whilst he is in our care.
She has made it very clear that she intends to move from the Leeds area down to London. There is a court order in place stating that she has to make him available for contact every Friday at 3pm until Sunday at 4pm. I NEVER miss contact with him. i love him and want to spend as much time as possible with him. He loves coming over to us. He gets to see his only other family (besides his mum) whilst he is with us. That's his aunties, uncles, grand parents, cousins and MOST IMPORTANTLY, his four sisters.
She has not gone to London as yet as she states that she can not afford the living costs there at the moment and that the only reason for her to move to London is to try and get otis into a prestigious school. Something that in my eyes should not be taking priority over his family that he loves dearly. There are plenty of good schools in the West Yorkshire area.
As things stand, she does not stick to the court order every week, despite warnings from not just her solicitors but also from the judge himself. She feels that i am only his father by law. As far as she is concerned, i am to be a father to him only y way of a cheque book and a telephone line!!!
our relationship together was a rocky one once we returned to the UK from China. However, despite my inner anger feelings towards her, I have always kept my cool and always worded things in a correct manner. At the end of the day, thiswhole thing is not about her or myself, it is about our 4 year old son. I only want what is best for him and i think that unless the father (or the mother) si an immediate danger to that child, then it is very important for a child to see and interact with both his father and his mother. I accept that it is sometimes easier said than done, but for me, as a loving father, i would never stop trying, no matter how it made me feel inside. Is that not what a parent is all about? Sacrificing your own needs where needed in order to put those of your child first?
I am about to embark on mediation services to try and make sense of this whole thing with her. Call me a pessimist but i believe it will end up only being a stepping stone to a full blown court case again. My fear is that she will up and move him before we even get that far.
As 2 parents, all though it be separated ones, i think it is vital that you should work together to do right by you child / children. They are innocent in all of this. It's not about you or your estranged partner.
I hope that one day she realises this and that my son will not have to loose contact with the only family (other than his mother, she is Chinese and all her family are still over in china) that he has and loves in this country.