Why should they live more with one of us when they are children to us both?: Parents' motives for practicing equal joint physical custody for children aged 0-4

Article history: Received 18 February 2016 Received in revised form 17 May 2016 Accepted 17 May 2016 Available online 18 May 2016 Joint physical custody, i.e., children spending an equal amount of time in both parents' home after a separation or divorce, is increasing inmany countries. In line with the national policy to promote paternal involvement in parenting, two-thirds of Swedish preschoolers with non-cohabiting parents live in twohomes. Internationally, there has been a debate regarding the benefits or risks with joint physical custody for infants and toddlers. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the reasons given by divorced parents for sharing joint physical custody of children 0–4 years of age. Interviews were conductedwith 46 parents (18 fathers and 28mothers) and analyzed using systematic text condensation. Two themes emerged in response to the research question. In the theme Same rights and responsibilities, parents described that joint physical custody was ‘a given’ as both parents were seen to have equal rights to and responsibility for the children. Both men and women described involved fatherhood as an ideal goal. In the theme For the sake of the child, parents emphasized that joint physical custodywas in the best interest of the child. Some parents had conflicts with their ex-spouses, but were still convinced of the benefits of joint physical custody and strove to make it work. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).