Setting Up a Parenting Time Schedule
Setting up a parenting time schedule is a very delicate process. If you are in the process of divorce, it is typically a requirement of both co-parents to submit a parenting time schedule that they feel is appropriate to be approved by the courts. Others may be reviewing their current parenting time schedule because they feel that it isn’t working for them as effectively as it should be. In any case, setting up a parenting time schedule takes a lot of time and effort from both you and your co-parent to determine what will be the best for your children.
Setting up a parenting time schedule that is well-balanced
The amount of time that your child spends with you and your co-parent separately is extremely important. The amount of time spent with each co-parent does not have to be equal, actually in most cases it isn’t, but it must be of good quality and in significant amounts. Failure to do so may cause a lot of emotional frustration between you, your co-parent, and your child. Another important aspect of a well-balanced parenting time schedule is consistency. A predictable and consistent schedule can be easier to manage and help to ensure that everyone in the family will quickly become accustomed to it.
What to address when setting up a parenting time schedule
The amount of time that is spent with each co-parent is extremely important to your children. As it was previously stated, this amount of time does not have to be equal but the time should be of good quality. Short visits do not benefit anyone.
The time and place of each transition between co-parents must be defined when setting up a parenting time schedule. If you and your co-parent are in a high conflict relationship, it is generally not a good idea to drop off or pick up your child at each other’s home. Unnecessary exposure to conflict can emotionally damage your child.
Holidays are important to plan out ahead of time in your parenting time schedule. One of the best ways for defining these days is to sit down with your co-parent and make a list of holidays ranking by importance (you and your co-parent decide the importance of each holiday, for instance, you may feel that Christmas is more important than Halloween). Make sure that you and your co-parent have equal holidays of the same importance.
Last minute and emergency situations must also be accounted for. If one co-parent has an obligation that they must meet at the last minute and they cannot take care of your child then you must have a game plan. Maybe you and your co-parent can figure out some sort of trading system that will keep you covered in these situations.
These are only a few of the important things that must be accounted for when setting up a parenting time schedule talk to a family law professional and your co-parent to discuss what is best for your own situation.
The OurFamilyWizard website® has been providing shared parenting families with the tools a resources that they need for setting up a parenting time schedule and enforcing it. For more information on how the OurFamilyWizard website® can help you and your co-parent with setting up a parenting time schedule please visit the Divorce Parenting page.
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