Virtual Daddy

In addition to in-person visits, Illinois law has given divorced parents the right to virtual visitations with their children to be conducted over the internet with web cams or via instant messengers. “Greg Baddick helped his 9-year-old daughter learn the state capitals of the Midwest. Later, when he asked Isabella how her test went, she said she got an A-plus — though she almost forgot the answer for Nebraska. ‘Congratulations,’ Baddick said via an Internet video link, the same way he helped her study. ‘I’m proud of you.’ Because Baddick, a senior manager for a pharmaceutical company, is divorced from Isabella’s mother, he helped his daughter study using their laptop computers and the Internet. The virtual visits are a weekly date for the pair, in addition to the in-person weekly visits and twice monthly weekend stays. Isabella lives in Elgin, Baddick in Chicago. ‘It’s been, honestly, a godsend,’ said Baddick, 39. ‘I feel like I’m there. I don’t feel like I’m missing anything.’ Language added to an Illinois law this month includes virtual visitation among the rights of noncustodial parents, making it enforceable by a judge.”