Estranged parents are launching courtroom battles to see their children at a rate of four a day.
Over the past four years, the number of broken families going before a sheriff to thrash out access to their children has soared by 48%.
The vast majority of those applying for contact orders are dads who have been unable to make an informal arrangement to see their children.
The order gives a parent the legal right to see their children at times and dates specified by the court.
Fathers’ rights campaigners claim these orders are routinely broken without the offenders being punished, leaving parents and grandparents cast adrift.
The revelations come after Perth Sheriff Court took the rare move of jailing former Apprentice contestant Sharon McAllister for repeatedly failing to let her former partner see his son.
Official figures reveal that, during 2008-09, 868 contact order cases were brought to court in Scotland. But by 2012-13, the latest available figures, the numbers being “initiated” had risen 48% to 1,288 equivalent to four a day.
The numbers of cases involving residence orders, more focused on where children live, also increased by 37% over the period.
Breaching the orders can lead to a criminal contempt of court conviction and last week McAllister was caged for three months after repeatedly ignoring the court order by refusing to hand over her six-year-old son to his dad.
She was jailed after appearing before sheriffs on more than 30 occasions and was first found in contempt of court in October 2013.
The defendant was granted legal aid to fight her long-running court appearances but Sheriff Fiona Tait has ordered she must repay £20,000.
One Scottish dad has not seen his children for more than two years despite a court saying he should have spent time with them every week.
The 42-year-old from Edinburgh, who asked not to be named, has spent more than £15,000 trying make his wife obey the contact order.
But he claims she repeatedly breached it without sanction, which has left him penniless and unable to see his children.
“If she had been given a penalty the first time I don’t think the other two would have happened but the sheriff allowed it to snowball.
Fathers’ rights campaigners claim McAllister’s disregard for the contact orders is common but the tough punishment she received is extremely rare.
Matt O’Connor, founder of Fathers4Justice, claims as many as 50% of all contact orders are being broken to some degree.
He said: “In the vast majority of cases they have orders but they are not being enforced.
“You can break the law without any consequences a prison sentence is rare.”
Mr O’Connor also said often the child’s paternal grandparents suffered “double heartbreak” of seeing their son’s marriage collapse, while also losing any right to see their grandchildren.
He added: “I have known grandparents who have died absolutely distraught at not having been able to see their grandchildren.
“It is a huge issue.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Where there are breaches of contact orders, this is a serious matter, and the person in breach can be found in contempt of court with the possibility of them being fined or even imprisoned.
“We are currently looking at international practice on contact orders with a view to identifying any lessons that can be learned from this.”
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