West Norfolk dad campaigns for equal parenting
Simon Cobb, a businessman from West Norfolk, is travelling the UK to promote his equal parenting movement.
Mr Cobb is the founder of PAPA, a campaign that says "the best parenting is equal parenting."
The campaigner set up the movement from his own pocket and offers free support on Facebook.
The dad of one has racked up over 47K followers on social media site Instagram and is set to launch his own PAPA website on April 25.
He seeks to help dads gain access and rights to their children, something that can be impacted by finances.
He said: "It's not always an option to pay a lawyer, not all fathers have that kind of money, it's £120 just to get a meeting initially.
Mr Cobb previously had issues with seeing his son Arlo,8, and had to fight for access. Although now reconciled and sharing joint custody of Arlo, Mr Cobb's experience inspired him to start his own campaign.
He said: "It's about equality more than anything else. I think the landscape of parenting has changed and many more fathers are now more involved.
"When it comes to birth certificates, the mother often makes the decision, leaving a father with little to no rights over his own child.
"I have many dads coming to me, and 99 per cent of the time they are good people - they just want access to their child."
He has travelled across West Norfolk and Lincolnshire to share his message of hope with fathers who are in a similar situation, but wants to make it clear that "equality comes first".
The campaigner said: "It's not about bashing mothers or saying that all mothers are like this - it's about recognising that fathers are seeking input too.
"Legislation and govenment need to catch up to the contemporary mode of parenting, it's not how it used to be.
"Child support should only be considered a last resort when a parent is unwilling to have a shared/equal arrangement with their child. Because right now we have a system in place that’s using children for monetary gain and in some cases; extortion.
"Children are not bargaining tools. Good and loving parents should not have to pay to see their children.
"The purpose of the campaign is to make it more widely acknowledged that an equal relationship with both parents is often in the best interests of the child. It’s important that 50/50 shared care is considered the default position when a family splits, the family court should only be used in the rare cases where a parent is unfit rather than as it stands at the moment where perfectly good parents are having to fight just to be in their children’s lives.
"For the years I’ve ran PAPA almost single-handedly, I’ve helped hundreds of people and in the process of my campaigns."
To get in touch with Mr Cobb or view his campaign you can go to his Instagram or Facebook pages.
