Ex Parte R.C.L.

MADDOX, Justice.

This is a dispute over the custody of R.N.C., a four-year old girl, between the mother, T.I., and the paternal grandmother, R.C.L.1 We granted the grandmother’s cer-tiorari petition to review the reversal by the Court of Civil Appeals of the trial court’s judgment awarding custody to her. We reverse and remand.

Most of the relevant facts are stated in the opinion of the Court of Civil Appeals, which should be read in conjunction with this opinion. We recite only those facts necessary for our discussion.

During 1989, following the child's birth in February of that year, the…