Survey finds low child visitation rate in divorced parents

A survey has discovered that the non-guardian side of divorced couples only occasionally visit their children.

Yesterday, the Women’s General Association of Macau announced the results of a survey it had conducted concerning single-parent families.

The survey discovered that nearly 60% of the respondents said that their ex-partners could not meet their children at least once a week on average, while more than 40% of the respondents reported that they would spend six hours or more per day taking care of their children.

The targets of this questionnaire survey are single-parent families with children under the age of 18. A total of 277 valid questionnaires were collected. More than 75% of the respondents work as clerks, salespersons or workers, among other professions, with a monthly income of less than MOP15,000. They responded that their economic income was not sufficient to handle daily expenses.

Nearly 64% of the respondents showed concern about their children’s lack of self-value and self-confidence, due to growing up in a single-parent family. The next most prevalent worry concerned children’s social skills and the parents’ lack of time to interact with children due to work.

The survey organizer also said the survey revealed restraints in personal and career development of the respondents, who reported that due to the weak responsibility fulfilment of their former partners, they faced double pressure from handling work and caring for their children. They have also experienced emotional disturbances due to these situations.

The association suggests that a legal arbitration mechanism for family affairs will help ease the situation.