Shared parenting refers to a collaborative arrangement in child custody or divorce determinations in which both parents have the right and responsibility of being actively involved in the raising of the child(ren). The term is often used as a synonym for joint physical custody, but the exact definitions vary, with different jurisdictions defining it in different ways, and different sources using the term in different ways. A regime of shared parenting is based on the idea that parental responsibilities should be shared by both the parents.