It can be very confusing when you're trying to arrange a child visitation schedule or parenting plan.
A lot of times parents get mixed up about when the children are with what parent.
To eliminate confusion and chaos it is very important to set up a consistent, clear schedule that both parents can follow.
Here are three things to consider when creating your child visitation schedule.
1.
The basic schedule.
This is the standard schedule that outlines the time when each parent is with the child.
You can really set this up however you want.
Some common schedules are: one parent having the kids on the weekends, the other parent having them during the week; parents alternating weeks; one parent having the kids on alternate weekends, the other parent having them the rest of the time; one parent having the kids on alternate weekends and one evening or overnight during the week; doing alternate weekends but extending the weekends; any variations on weekend time.
Don't feel like you have to choose a common schedule though.
If it works better for your situation to have one parent with the kids the first half of the week and the other parent the second half, schedule that.
Or, if one parent has the kids after school and then the other parent picks them up, do that.
You have a lot of freedom for this.
2.
Dividing the holidays.
You should divide the holidays evenly and fairly.
This means that both parents get big and small holidays.
Like, if one parent gets the children for Christmas, the other parent gets the children for Thanksgiving.
One parent gets Memorial Day, the other gets Labor Day.
Etc.
Holidays generally alternate year by year--so if you don't have the kids for Halloween this year, you'll get them next year.
This is nice because then you always know what years you have the kids for what holidays.
Another thing to consider about holidays is the length of the holiday.
Decide how much time the parent gets for the holiday--sometimes Christmas is half a day or a week.
You can make Thanksgiving the whole weekend or half of it.
Do what works best for your situation.
3.
Vacation time and special events.
You'll want to schedule in vacation time with each parent.
Usually an agreement has a stipulation that each parent gets a week or two with the kids to go on vacation.
You don't have to know the exact days--but choose some tentative ones.
You'll also want to consider if there are special days where the child should be with either parent.
Perhaps one parent wants to attend sporting events with a child--and they are a regular occurrence for two months.
Or, maybe you want to change your basic schedule during the summer when the children have more flexibility.
Coming up with your child visitation schedule can take time.
But, it is worth it to have everything all laid out like you want.
And, once things are clear regarding the calendar it makes it easy to remember pick up and drop off times and days.
Having your parenting plan firmly in place can let you relax and enjoy the time with your children.