Is the 50/50 movement obsolete?

Social evolution is changing norms faster than activists can change laws

Excerpted and adapted from The 50/50 Solution: The Surprisingly Simple Choice that Makes Moms, Dads, and Kids Happier and Healthier after a Split (Sourcebooks)

Hang out on social media channels devoted to equal parenting activism, you would believe the majority of separated families are lawyered-up, alienating sociopaths at brutal war with benevolent exes, at the mercy of sexist, greedy judges. The answer, they believe, is to pass laws to guarantee a equal parenting presumption.

Meanwhile, there are large and growing swaths of the United States where 50/50 is the norm. In fact, sharing parenting time is so common in many places, parents there erroneously believe it 50/50 is the law in their state. Everyone just sharing parenting time equally, they post on social media and email me directly. They stay out of court, not even entertaining fighting for more parenting time. This is said with a shrug.

This is great news for the equal-parenting movement, right? If goal is the majority of parent…