Edwin C. "Ned" Holstein is an American

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

children's rights Children's rights or the rights of children are a subset of human rights with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to minors.

advocate. He is a founder and chairman of the National Parents Organization, and an advocate for

shared parenting Shared parenting, shared residence, joint residence, shared custody, joint physical custody, equal parenting time (EPT) is a child custody arrangement after divorce or separation, in which both parents share the responsibility of raising their ...

as being in the best interest of most children after separation or divorce.

Education and medical career

Holstein holds a bachelor's degree from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

, a master's degree in psychology from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

and an M.D. degree from

Mount Sinai School of Medicine The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City, New York, United States. The school is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sina ...

(1971). He did his residency in

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

Boston City Hospital The Boston City Hospital (1864–1996), in Boston, Massachusetts, was a public hospital located in the South End. It was "intended for the use and comfort of poor patients, to whom medical care will be provided at the expense of the city, and ...

and a fellowship in

preventive medicine Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, is the application of healthcare measures to prevent diseases.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health a ...

at Mount Sinai School of Medicine from 1976 to 1978. Holstein is board certified in internal medicine, preventive medicine and occupational medicine. He practices occupational medicine in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located roughly west of Downtown Boston, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders Boston to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of ...

. In addition to his clinical work, he has conducted environmental health research, studying e.g. the carcinogenic effects of

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

, public health responses to asbestos exposure, liver function among dairy farmers, and techniques for measuring

polybrominated biphenyl Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), also called brominated biphenyls or polybromobiphenyls, are a group of manufactured chemicals that consist of polyhalogenated compound, polyhalogenated derivatives of a biphenyl core. Their chlorine analogs are t ...

exposure.

Organizational service

In 1998, Holstein founded the National Parents Organization, an organization that promotes

after separation or divorce. He is the chairman of the board and he has at times also served as the national executive director. He also serves on the board of directors for the International Council on Shared Parenting. In May 2017, he organized and hosted the ''Third International Conference on Shared Parenting'' in Boston.

Shared parenting advocacy

Holstein bases his advocacy for shared parenting on scientific studies from around the world. This research has shown that children with a shared parenting arrangement perform better on a variety of physical health, mental health and social relationship metrics, compared to children in sole custody.Ned Holstein
Joint custody should be the rule, not the exception

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

, October 8, 2014.

Media coverage

Holstein has been interviewed and quoted by various media outlets, including: * Marilyn Gardner
When equal custody is law, who gains?

Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper b ...

, June 24, 2004. * Susanna Schrobsdorff
Divorce: The New Rules of Child Custody

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

, December 14, 2008. * Jennifer Ludden
Push To Change Custody Laws: What's Best For Kids?

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 a ...

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, February 26, 2014. * Mandy Oaklander
This Divorce Arrangement Stresses Kids Out Most

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

, April 27, 2015. * Dugan Arnett
In Massachusetts and elsewhere, a push for custody reform

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

, August 1, 2015. * Gail Rosenblum
New research supports shared custody for children in divorce

Minnesota Star Tribune ''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the seventh-largest in the United States by circula ...

, September 3, 2017. * Jayne O'Donnell, Sierra Lewter
Fatherlessness is harder on Father's Day, but 'father figures,' other role models fill in

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

, June 15, 2018.
s of children of divorce
Maryland Reporter, January 18, 2018.

References

External links