Monday to Friday of most weeks, your children go to school. Saturday and Sunday, they don’t. That is how the standard week looks for school-age children, and as divorcing parents, it is relatively easy to plan custody and visitation around that.
The problem is that some weeks are not like that, and the disruption they cause to your regular routine can be hard to plan ahead for or to deal with in the moment. Here are some of those dates you need to consider:
The school holidays
Even married parents can struggle during these, as having to look after the kids disrupts their ability to work. As you divorce, you will likely both have to work full time to survive, so caring for the kids can become even harder.
Halloween
That is the next big date on most children’s calendars. If one of you is much more into Halloween than the other, maybe allow them to take the kids trawling for candy. Or if you do it this year, then your spouse could take them next year.
Thanksgiving and Christmas
Many families use these as a time to get together. While it can be a great opportunity for you to seek comfort in the arms of your family, remember it could be hard for your child not to see both parents on this day.
Birthdays
The birthdays most important to kids, other than their own, are those of their parents. Bringing you breakfast in bed or painting a handmade birthday card is important to them. Why not plan custody so that they still get to do this for each parent?
As for the child’s birthday, see if you can both spend part of the day with them.
Where each parent lives will partly dictate your options. What should not dictate things are any problems between you as ex-spouses. Do your best to put your differences aside to make these special occasions special for your child.
