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Shared Parenting Scotland

Flying the flag for shared parenting atop Ben Nevis

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On Saturday 30 May, over 20 parents, including mums, dads and grandparents from all parts of Scotland took on Ben Nevis, the UK’s highest peak, and unrolled our new Shared Parenting Scotland banner after a tough ascent.

Research shows most children benefit when they have the love and involvement of both parents and wider family after divorce or separation.

We stepped up to say, children deserve better. Better support, better systems, and better outcomes.

As we also observe the UN’s Global Day of Parents, we recognise that families come in all shapes and sizes and so we want to highlight and celebrate all the separated parents that love their children and want what’s best for them. Our key messages are:

🔵 No child should feel they’ve lost a parent just because their parents separated.

🟡 Climbing a mountain is hard – but so is navigating family court. We promote the alternatives.

🔵 Together, we can help families find alternative paths – keeping the rights of children at the centre.

A group of 15 men and women wearing white T-shirts with the Shared Parenting Scotland logo stand outside the Ben Nevis Visitor Centre with two Shared Parenting Scotland flags. Ben Nevis is visible in the background on an overcast morning.

Ahead of the Ben Nevis climb our Chief Executive Kevin Kane spoke about why 17 parents today decided to scale the UK’s highest peak, noting that this comes shortly after the recent Scottish election which seen around half of MSPs being newly elected.

His message to Scotland’s new Parliament is that language matters and culture matters and that a country speaking up for children’s rights to both parents is not controversial.

This includes

  • Article 9 (Children whose parents have separated have the right to stay in contact with both parents, unless this could cause them harm)
  • Article 3 (The best interests of the child must be a top priority in all decisions and actions that affect children)

The last Scottish Parliament saw the incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots Law. In this new Parliament, we want to see progress made in terms of dismantling the embedded disincentives to shared parenting currently faced by co-parents and their children, so that we can truly say that Scotland is getting it right for every child and parent.

 

@shared.parenting.scot

“We’re going to say it loud and proud and unashamedly: children have a right to both parents. That’s what it’s all about” Ahead of our Ben Nevis climb fundraiser our Chief Executive Kevin Kane spoke about why 17 parents today decided to scale the UK’s highest peak, noting that this comes shortly after the recent Scottish election which seen around half of MSPs being newly elected. His message to Scotland’s new Parliament is that language matters and culture matters and that a country speaking up for children’s rights to both parents is not controversial. This includes Article 9 (Children whose parents have separated have the right to stay in contact with both parents, unless this could cause them harm) and Article 3 (The best interests of the child must be a top priority in all decisions and actions that affect children). In this new Parliament, we want to see progress made in terms of dismantling the embedded disincentives to shared parenting currently faced by co-parents and their children, so that we can truly say that Scotland is getting it right for every child and parent. The last Scottish Parliament saw the incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots Law Our amazing climbers have already raised over £4700 - we’d love to reach £5200 (£4 for every metre scaled) so please like, share, and if able, donate. Your donations will help us: 🔵 Bolster our national helpline and growing our local group meetings offer. 🟡 Support training and resources for parents and professionals. 🔵 Increasing advocacy and policy influence to support parents and protect children’s rights after separation. You can donate through the JustGiving link here - https://www.justgiving.com/team/sharedparentingbennevis

♬ Moment Of Reflection - Jhonatan Rodrigues & Piano Sky & Dee Piano

Our climbers have raised just over £5100, an amazing amount that will help us bolster our national helpline, grow our local group meetings, and support training and resources for parents and professionals.

We’d love to reach £4 for every metre scaled (£5200) and so are really close to that target – if you’re able to support, our Just Giving page is still active and available here

We’d also like to shout out Both Parents Matter in England who took their message to the highest points in England and Wales. We also welcomed the Chair of Both Parents Matter, Frances Carr, to the climb as well

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