Children have the right to be raised as well as possible, while their parents are together and after they separate. Parenting apart can be challenging, but the fact that a child's parents have separated doesn't deprive them of their right to good parenting. The best-interests factors described in the ''Divorce Act'' are more than a simple shopping list. If you think about them, each factor is vitally important to the quality of life and the quality of care of children whose parents are living apart. They're not a shopping list, they're a guide to parenting after separation.