Host: What parenting plan is appropriate for very young children?
John Spiegel: Parents often worry especially about what kind of parenting arrangements are appropriate for very young children. Infants, toddlers, preschoolers and there is good reason for the extra concern and it has to do with what psychotherapist call, the child sense of time.
Young children, it turns out experience time differently than older children and adults. In that time seems to go more slowly for them. So for example, to me a week is a short period of time. I am often thinking months ahead, but to a very young child they may not even be able to imagine from one week, seven days later. So, for young children having more frequent contact with both parents can make a huge difference. It enables them to keep both parents in mind which otherwise they might have difficultly doing.