Hi Cynthia!

I agree that for most women, staying for the kids is not good for the kids or the woman. I think being raised in a household that is full of lies hurts children, and it hurts girls and boys to watch a mother, or father, subjugate their needs and self in a miserable marraige. If it is abusive, it is worse. I have seen cases though, here in California, in which mothers did regret leaving, because of the 50/50 thing. Getting away from a creep and leaving your kids with him half the time, and having to deal with the continued battling that does on after that if one parent is trying to turn the kids against the other- it can be such a mess that I can see that for some, staying may actually make more sense. I know it sounds crazy, but I think the laws are a bit crazy. The rights of the parent are far stronger than the rights of the child.

I think things were probably not great for Marolyn at all, except for financially. The kids, they certainly had the best of everything, especially tutors ( Anth ), but I think that growing up in the residence must have been completely bizzare. I just don't see what their escape route was.