Of course, mills and his crew are not out to permanently replace the physical presence of a parent at bedtime.

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"I cannot begin to imagine what either parent may be going through and we are very worried about their physical and emotional state, " she said.

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It can include stipulations such as "no physical contact" - or "no funny business", as one parent put it - and the procedure is completed with the mahr.

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In general, women are still the primary parent, and they still do more household chores, which involves both physical work and a whole lot of mental work remembering appointments, planning meals, getting the paperwork in on time.

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