ABSTRACT This article reviews the debate about the enhancement of grandparents’ legal status in relation to their grandchildren. In particular, it observes that calls for a legal presumption in favour of grandparent contact with their grandchildren when family relationships break down were emboldened by the enactment in s1(2A) of the Children Act 1989 of a presumption that involvement of both parents in their children’s lives furthers children’s welfare. Proponents of grandparent rights argued that there should be a similar statutory presumption in favour of grandparent involvement. It is also argued that courts should strictly enforce child arrangement orders that give grandparents time with grandchildren. The article examines the welfare case for such involvement and concludes that there is no unequivocal evidence to support it. It also considers the effect of the presumption in s1(2A). The article concludes that to enact a similar presumption in favour of grandparents, to apply a de facto presumption, to enforce orders strictly and even to remove the leave requirement that currently exists, could prejudice the interests of mothers as well as children.

中文翻译：

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祖父母联系人：另一个假设？

摘要 本文回顾了关于提高祖父母对其孙子女的法律地位的争论。尤其是，它注意到 1989 年《儿童法》第 1(2A) 条的规定，推定父母双方都参与了子女的生活生活促进儿童福利。祖父母权利的支持者认为，应该有一个类似的法定推定来支持祖父母的参与。也有人认为，法院应严格执行让祖父母有时间陪伴孙辈的儿童安排令。文章检查了这种参与的福利案例，并得出结论，没有明确的证据支持它。它还考虑了 s1(2A) 中推定的影响。文章的结论是，制定有利于祖父母的类似推定、适用事实上的推定、严格执行命令甚至取消目前存在的休假要求，可能会损害母亲和儿童的利益。