The child must be legally competent to testify in court, meaning he or she understands what the child custody hearings are all about and knows the difference between truth and lies. When a child testifies in court, the judge does not directly ask the child if he or she would want to live with the father or the mother. Aside from having to endure a life with a broken family, the child has to go through more painful experiences such as when one or both parents start to file for a child custody case. If you are one of those parents who are having a hard time to get started on filing for a child custody case because of mixed emotions and guilty feelings, then the best way would be to settle all your ill feelings first. The court determines it based on various factors such as the main caretaker of the child, the wishes of the child, the home environment of each parent, the willingness of a parent to nurture a good relationship with the other parent, the character and behavior of each parent, and any case of abuse or neglect of each parent in the past. They will have to understand as well the implications of temporary child custody agreements or orders. Temporary and permanent custody A temporary custody agreement often becomes permanent. It costs tens of thousands of dollars. Moreover, it can last several months to over a year of being tied up in court if it shall be modified caused by objections from either parent. But since herbal or natural remedies don t necessarily have clinical approval, it is best to test first the effects of these herbs before you finally try it. Experts say that one of the most effective methods for helping parents who have loss child custody cases is the process called "desensitization" which is underlying principle in the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT. Always have a positive outlook in life. This might some easy for some but many people are in fact having a hard time developing and maintaining a positive outlook in life. Maybe because people just have different personalities and different upbringing that affect the way they see life in general. If one wants to survive in these hard times, he or she must start developing a positive outlook in life.