NPO: Woozles: Their Role in Custody Law Reform, Parenting Plans and Family Court

Article here. Excerpt:

'What’s a woozle? And what role does it play in child custody decisions and custody law reform? If you remember Winnie the Pooh, he and his friends become obsessed with the idea that they are being stalked by a frightening beast they called a woozle. In fact, they are being deceived by their own footprints as they walk around in circles. In social science a woozle is a belief or a claim based on inaccurate, partial, or flawed data — data that have been repeatedly misrepresented, misinterpreted or “woozled” in ways that end up influencing public opinion, individuals’ decision making, and public policy.

This paper illustrates the woozling process that has contributed to the creation of a powerful and damaging child custody woozle: After parents’ separate, infants and toddlers who spend even one night a week in their father’s care are more irritable, distressed, inattentive, vigilant and anxious with their mothers, and physically stressed. In short, up until the age of four children should live exclusively, or nearly exclusively, with their mothers. The one study that has frequently been proffered as evidence that overnighting has a “deleterious impact” on infants and toddlers is an Australian study commissioned by the attorney general’s office (McIntosh, Smyth, Kelelar & Wells, 2010, Post separation parenting plans: Outcomes for infants and children).'