Generally speaking no. There is no set age upon which the court will allow the child to chose. They will however apply merit to the wishes of the child beginning around age 12 in some courts. As a general rule though the courts prefer to keep the children's exposure to the custody battle limited.

According to the most current AFCARS Report (Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System Report), there were approximately 523,000 children in the U. S. in foster care on September 30, 2003 Michigan alone had 21,376.

You may need a court order that says the other parent can't come into your home, even to pick up the baby. The court could order them to wait outside your home in the car at curbside. Sometimes it's preferable to arrange for them to pick up and drop off the baby outside your local police station or at some other public location.

Sometimes it's a trusted family member, but that's not always possible. The court could choose a social service agency that handles supervised visitation. If father has money, he may be ordered to pay the supervisor. That can be expensive, although supervised visits usually take place only a few times a month for an hour or two.

It could. If you feel the other parent would hurt the baby, you may need to ask the court to appoint a visitation supervisor. You'll have to tell the judge why you believe that's necessary. If they are really dangerous, the court may prohibit them from seeing the baby under any circumstances.