my son cannot make up his mind

[northboy]

my friend is divorced from his wife,but his son cannot make up his mind who he wants to live with.
at the moment my friend has no fixed abode,as he is staying at his sisters in stoke,and also staying at mine in manchester.
as the council have not found him any where to stay.
at the moment his son is staying with his mother at her mothers in stoke,awaiting her house to be updated by the council.
DOES MY FRIEND HAVE A TIME LIMIT ON WAITING FOR HIS SON TO MAKE UP HIS MIND?AS MY FRIENDS EX WIFE SEEMS TO THINK SO.

[mrs_overall]

How old is the son?

[northboy]

10

[mrs_overall]

Firstly, there is NO time limit on this.
Secondly, it must be hard for the boy if he is being made to choose between which of his parents he lives with. I don't think it will help him if pressure is being put on him to make a decision..

[northboy]

my friend has stated to his son on numerous occassions that it would be fine if he chose to stay with his mum,and his dad visited at week ends.
as his schooling,friends,relatives,are all in the same area,and i think that in my opinion moving his son out of an environment that he is use to, would not help matters.

[mrs_overall]

I think I agree with you on that one as familiar faces/surroundings will be a great comfort to him.
As long as he knows that BOTH parents are always there for him, he'll do fine.
If circumstances change, he can choose to live with his dad at anytime. In law, a child age 9 or over has the final say in who they live with in cases like this.