From 2016 to 2019, my husband Ed went through a long-drawn-out court case to get access to his daughter Amelia. Despite my own legal background, I was unprepared for the many hurdles we would face. From crooked lawyers to a legal system that is simply not set up for modern society where both parents want to be equally involved in their children's lives. Had we not come across the charity Shared Parenting Scotland I genuinely do not know where we would be. With their invaluable legal advice and their support - and yes also with our own dedication and eventually a good solicitor - we jumped through all the hoops. There were many tears over the years and financially it was a tough time. But the end result was that Ed was indeed awarded an opportunity to share parenting of Amelia.

Fast forward to 2023, our family cannot imagine a life without her. She lives with us for almost half the time, has an amazing bond with her brother and sister, goes to swimming and dancing classes on our time and to lovely holidays around the UK. And what seemed impossible happened. Once the courts and lawyers disappeared Amelia's parents had an opportunity to rebuild their co-parenting relationship. And with great success - both families now value each other's contributions to Amelia's life.

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Shared Parenting Scotland exists only to promote Shared Parenting. Kids whose Mum and Dad split up have a fundamental human right to an ongoing, loving caring, nurturing relationship with both their parents, where both their parents are safe. Kids who maintain contact with both their parents have better outcomes. They are more successful in school, in relationships, at work and they are healthier too. We help nearly a thousand parents every year with contact problems after separation. If you can't take part in a Kiltwalk yourself, please consider a donation to support us to raise some money so that we can help even more parents in future. If you are a taxpayer we can recover an additional 25p for every £1 you raise by way of sponsorship from friends and family. Any donation you can spare will mean the world to me and my chosen charity. Thank you!