While both parents have an equal right to parent their children, married or otherwise partnered parents make decisions that work for their lives and the lives of their children while they are together. Sometimes, one parent becomes a stay-at-home parent. Sometimes, both parents return to work after the baby is born. And sometimes, a parent delays working at all until a child reaches a certain age. What is always true is that when they are together, couples decide which parent will be a primary parent in terms of taking the children to the doctor, to social or athletic events, to assist with homework, etc. Barring an actual decision, patterns emerge where one parent is the actual primary parent for any number of reasons, including demands of a job, the parents' preferences, and many other reasons. When parents separate, absent contraindications, the roles of the parents should continue as much as possible. Why? For the stability of the children, and because the way the parents have allotted their respective roles—absent domestic violence—indicates that the status quo ante should be presumed to be in their child's best interests.