The place of child development in evaluations related to custody in Turkey

The aim of this study is to examine the reports prepared in the process of deciding the custody of children in divorced families in the context of child development. The reports evaluated in the scope of the research were evaluated by the method of document review and the results were found in the context of child development and the best interest of the child.  In this context, a total of 107 reports related to custody were examined. The results from findings show that while evaluations regarding custody are expressed in many places with the emphasis on the development of the children, the reports contain little information about the development of the child. When the child's best interest is considered to be the most important component of child development, it is seen that as a result of these depictions, developing a new system in order to protect the best interest of the child, which is one of the top principles of the law related to custody, and carrying out an evaluation that focuses on child development is necessary.