This is a question people ask a lot.
A similar question is “When can my child decide if they want to see the other parent?”
The simple answer is, when they become adults at the age of 18.
There is no ‘magic age’ that enables a child to decide that they wish to live with a certain parent, or stop seeing a parent.
Judges have been critical of parents giving children the power to choose – this has been seen as forcing adult decisions on children.
As children become older and more mature, their wishes hold more weight in court.
However, they are never the only factor taken into account.
For example, the 14 year old who wants to live with Parent A because Parent B makes him do his homework and eat vegetables, whereas Parent A lets him stay up late, eat junk and play computer games, is not necessarily making a decision that is in his own best interests.
Ultimately, it is for parents to decide arrangements for their children, not children.
If parents cannot decide, then a judge will make the decision and parents are expected to abide by it, even if it means forcing a child to do something they say they do not wish to do, because it has been considered to be in their best interests.