Summer brings to mind many images, including children frolicking through the sprinklers, trips to summer camp, family vacations, ballgames, and camping excursions. Unfortunately, divorced parents often miss out on the fun due to the stress of trying to schedule summer activities for their children.
Summer vacation planning is made more complicated for divorced parents due to the need to coordinate pickup and drop-off times at camp, pool or summer school. If parents have a custody agreement that spells out how this is to be accomplished it makes things easier, but doesn’t guarantee smooth sailing. It is entirely possible that a child will want to participate in an activity that just does not work with one parent’s schedule, requiring parents to either modify the agreement or come to an informal arrangement.
Divorced parents without detailed child custody agreements may find that providing their children with appropriate activities to be a challenge. If the divorce was hotly contested, and if child custody and visitation were major issues, developing and executing an activity plan for children may raise issues that you thought were settled when the divorce became final.
Strong differences of opinion about what is suitable for a child, combined with significant financial limitations not present before the divorce, can make summer vacation planning a nightmare.
Here are some tips to minimize the stress of your children’s summer vacations:
Some divorced parents dread summer vacations, especially if they are non-custodial parents who live far from their children and do not see them frequently. However, with planning and a clear focus on the children, summertime can be great for kids and parents.