Parenting Time, “Custody”: Week on, week off
There are many ways to address the needs of the children through the parenting time, IE: overnights.
Something I would like to impart. Every child has the intrinsic desire to be with the parents equally. Getting to equal is difficult sometimes because of one party working or on the road or other variables. However, there are many ways to address that situation. Below are some of the things that I would like everyone to think about:
- Ages of the children. The younger the child the more frequent the visits, transitions or exchanges.
- Doing a week on/week off arrangement works for the parents. Typically below the age of 8 it is traumatic for the child! We do not recommend.
- Are any of the children special needs?
- Do the parents work, does one travel for work?
- How flexible are the individual work schedules?
- How far are the parents from each other? Same town, state, etc?
There are many parenting time “rotations” that are available to choose from. Below is one of the many that I am going to post about.
In higher conflict situations it may be best to have transitions/exchanges at school when in session.
Pros
- Both parents are able to have a long time period with the child
- Both parents have the child for the same amount of time so there may be less conflict over the schedule
- There are limited exchanges
- You can add midweek or overnight visits so the child doesn’t spend an entire week away from either parent
- Children who struggle with change and require consistency do well on this schedule
- Usually easier for the child to stay current on school assignments and homework with both parents involved
- Both parents are committed to a shared parenting arrangement for their child
Cons
- Parents of school aged children must live within a reasonable distance to the school
- Parents must live reasonably close to each other
- Some children may struggle having two residences
- Parents must communicate frequently and keep each other updated on school, activities, and the child’s well being
- Parents and/or the child may struggle being apart for an entire week
In the next post I will discuss the pros and cons of other parenting plans.
