Published: November 8, 2016

How Father's Can Successfully Arrange for Child Visits on Holidays and Birthdays




If you're a dad who shares custody of your children, you know that holidays and birthdays are a difficult time of year, especially when the children are younger or when the divorce is fairly new. As each year passes, you and your family will adjust and create new ways to find time to spend together, but for now, you want to ensure that your father's rights remain intact.

If at all possible, you and your ex-wife should come up with a parenting agreement that outlines how the children will spend their birthdays and how you will negotiate any changes to the schedule. Here are some tips for making holiday and birthday time more enjoyable for everyone involved:

Flexibility

Everyone, and we mean everyone, must be flexible when it comes to scheduled time for holidays and birthdays. The best gift you can give your children is avoiding conflict. If your children express a strong desire to spend a certain day with their mother, try to be accommodating of that need, even if "officially" you're supposed to have the kids.

Plan Ahead

More planning is involved when making plans than there was when everyone lived together under one roof. Allow your ex-wife time to think about any proposed visits and to respond. Being too pushy could result in resistance, not cooperation.

Include the Children

When you can, allow the children to help make decisions on when and where they want to celebrate their birthdays. Make it clear, however, that everyone involved must be agreeable to the planning. This helps to teach your children how to collaborate with their mom.

For more tips and suggestions on how to successfully arrange visitation, especially around birthdays or the holidays, contact us.