The one who stays.

I read a study, which I can't find now in google search, where children of families with fathers and mothers were compared with gay parents, and they were surprised to find the thrive factor to be the women.

Two women, as in a lesbian couple, had more emotionally healthy children than the children of a father and mother.

The children of gay males fared the worst.

My parents were very different types of parents. My father was more the warm personality while my mother was rather reserved.

Our court system here prefers to award joint custody, and the level of care provided by each parent may vary. I had shared custody of my children, but the ex made problems, lots of problems and finally the court awarded me sole custody without me asking for it. I have no doubt I am a better parent than she is but this is only one case and I am biased. I believe in many cases, each parent is as good a parent as the other.

woman aren't better parents at there part of parenting and there are always exceptions but generally, i would say woman are more needed at least at the beginning myself.

IMHO, the courts gives the kids to the mother for something that is known as "tradition". I don't doubt in the past the courts wanted the man to be free to date / marry again....while the same system saw the women as individuals who shouldn't think about a second chance in life....and having to take care of the kids was a great way to reduce said chance to a minimum.
No wonder Kramer vs. Kramer was so successful.

What bothers me the most is most judges give strong preference to a religious church going person over an atheist regardless of which one is the better person and more financially stable.

The better parent is the one or both that prioritizes the child's/children's needs and best interest.

Historically mothers were the caregivers/nurtures and in charge of discipline and early education (manners, right and wrong, conflict resolution etc.) in the family so the courts traditionally left the children with their mothers unless proof of unfitness was supplied.

Changes though slow to be implemented have made it easier for the courts to determine custody with different options that are available depending on the evidence submitted.

In my opinion, parents who love their children but must dissolve their union should for the love of their children negotiate their own co-parenting agreement in the best interest of their children's welfare and leave the courts out of it.

Consistency and reliability are what make a good parent, not gender. Women generally received custody in the past because they were the ones who were responsible for raising the children.

When I divorced my son's father, he didn't want custody, barely picked him up for visitation and never paid child support after he started another family. Honestly, I was a married single mother long before the split.

The bests parent is the ones that pays attention to the kids and leaves the ego in the dung heap.

Women are favored in court cases due to traditional sex roles.