Creating a Parenting Schedule for the Holidays

 Posted on November 19,2018 in Parenting Time (Visitation)

Your first holiday season after your divorce can be stressful for you and your children because it is the first time you are not celebrating the holidays together as a family. Your parenting schedule should not add more stress to the season. Divorced parents often have unique schedules for holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. You may have already included one in your divorce parenting agreement. However, you will not know how well the schedule works until you put it into action. You may need to adjust your holiday parenting schedule to something that works better for your children.

Qualities of a Good Schedule

You should build your holiday parenting schedule around what will create the most enjoyable experience for your children. This requires sacrificing some of your own time with the children so that both you and your co-parent can celebrate with them. How you divide your time depends on your individual circumstances. You should ask yourselves:

• Which home will the children be most comfortable spending a holiday at?;
• Which parent is most capable of hosting a holiday celebration such as a dinner?;
• What other family members will the children be able to see when staying with each parent?;
• Are the children old enough to handle traveling between parents on the holiday?; and
• Is one parent more closely associated with certain holiday traditions than the other?

Types of Schedules

There are four ways that you can structure your holiday parenting schedule:

• Your children can split time between both of you on the holiday;
• You can alternate which one of you has the children on a holiday each year;
• You can permanently assign a holiday to one parent; or
• You can both have separate holiday celebrations on different days.

Splitting your parenting time on a holiday works best if you live near your co-parent and your children are older. Not seeing your children on a holiday may be depressing for you, even if you know it is better for them. You should ask your co-parent if you can arrange a time to call your children on the holiday. Having separate celebrations may be the best option. For instance, you could host your children on Christmas Eve, while your co-parent has them on Christmas day. Your children have a full and uninterrupted day to celebrate with you.

Contact a Warrenville Divorce Lawyer

If you want to change your holiday parenting schedule, you need to modify your parenting agreement to make the change legally enforceable. A DuPage County family law attorney at Calabrese Associates, P.C., can help you draft the changes and file a motion to modify the agreement. To schedule a consultation, call 630-393-3111.

Source:

https://www.custodyxchange.com/examples/holidays/