Bonus families are the fastest growing family unit in Norway today. This means that the role of bonus parents becomes more and more important in looking after children living in bonus families. Not infrequently, bonus parents actually play a more important role in the child’s life than the biological parents, who may be absent for various reasons. Today, biological parents who almost never meet their child have a greater “right” to the child than a bonus parent, even when the bonus parents are the ones who actually raise and look after the child in everyday life – both practically and emotionally. I think this is absurd. Lack of legal protection for children living in bonus families is also very likely not in line with the principle of “the best interests of the child”. This is authorized in section 104 second paragraph of the constitution and also in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The fact that bonus conditions are not recognized by Norwegian law means that bonus parents today have no obligation to follow up the child in everyday life. It is therefore high time to legislate children’s right to care from bonus parents. It is obvious that bonus parents who are not committed, absent in the care of the bonus child and indifferent to the child’s needs, do not look after the child’s best interests when the child stays in their home. The Storting must adapt the legislation in line with the fact that the family image has changed, and highlight the responsibility of bonus parents for the child. It is important that both the Ministry of Children and Families and the Storting now investigate in more detail what legal status bonus parents should have, and what formal rights must be in place to resolve questions, challenges and difficulties that arise with bonus children in daily life. International research shows that children who live in bonus families generally do worse than children who grow up in the traditional nuclear family. The children drop out of education more often, make their sexual debut earlier, come into conflict with the law more often and struggle more with psychological problems and challenges related to behaviour, than children who grow up in nuclear families. Neither the new child protection reform that came into force in January 2022, the Children’s Act nor the new Child Protection Act that the Storting has now adopted mention the bonus conditions in a single word. Most countries in Europe (including Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, Poland and the Netherlands) recognize the bonus conditions, and have adapted the rules on parental authority, so that the law is in line with new forms of family life. Bonus parents are made responsible towards the bonus child to ensure that the child receives the care they need in the bonus home. The Netherlands, for example, has gone to great lengths to impose legal obligations on bonus parents towards the bonus child. The legal obligations of the bonus parents in the Netherlands are close to the obligations biological parents in Norway have today. In order to look after children who live in bonus families, it is time for the Storting to legislate as soon as possible a duty for bonus parents to look after the bonus child both practically, emotionally and financially, when the child is in the bonus home. We must also allow bonus parents to be granted party rights in matters concerning the bonus child, under specific conditions. It is particularly important that bonus parents are given the right to access documents relating to the child, such as information from nursery school, school and health information. It must also be allowed for bonus parents to be given the right to visit the bonus child in the event of a break-up with the partner, and can be made a party under the Child Protection Act, in order to safeguard the principle of the child’s best interests. Furthermore, bonus families must be given the same right to social security benefits as the core family. Bonus parents must have the right to be at home with a sick bonus child, and be able to apply for carer’s pay. Bonus families are not entitled to these benefits today. All in all, there is a crying need for laws and regulations in line with the times we live in. The authorities must ensure that the principle of the best interest of the child is also safeguarded in the bonus families. It is only when we recognize the bonus family on an equal footing with other family units, that bonus children’s needs for follow-up and security are taken care of.
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Bonus families in lawless terrain – Statement
