With summer around the corner, planning ahead for vacation remains essential when co-parenting.
Knowing that life comes with the unexpected, the following tips may help you ensure children get a summer full of fun memories.
1. Communicate plans
From family reunions to sporting events and birthdays, the summer months quickly fill up. While devising a summer plan, communicate your thoughts as soon as possible. Both parents need to stick to the parenting plan, which plans may not fit into. Having a discussion early increases the chances that the other parent will agree. If they do not, you may have to file a visitation change order with the courts.
2. Get input from children
While you may have some grand ideas of what summer should look like, your children may not agree. Even during summer, children still need structure and routine. If you spend more time with your children than your ex, the children may see that break as an opportunity to spend more time with their other parent.
3. Keep summer civil
Whether new to co-parenting or slowly mastering it, stay civil for the children. Tensions often rise during the summer months, making it easy to want to one-up the other parent. Oftentimes, the children would rather spend time with each parent than go on some extravagant trip that has opened old wounds between the parents.
While you want to ensure your children experience a summer to remember, staying diligent about working with the other parent creates better odds of happy memories.