The holidays can quickly become the most stressful time of the year, especially when you’ve got shared custody matters to figure out. But before things drag you down, grab onto that holiday spirit and start making arrangements.
Positive coparenting can be crucial for the well-being of your child, and there might not be a better time to start than the holiday season. Working together to establish a collaborative plan for the upcoming holiday foray can be a big step toward avoiding another source of strain.
Crafting your calendar
Take deep breaths, and remember a few guidelines:
- Plan early: Get all the details ironed out well before the holiday hits. You’ll likely be juggling a lot with things like family gatherings and school activities dominating the season, so make sure you start communicating now. For everything on your schedule, your child’s other parent probably has the same concerns looming.
- Be flexible: If your activities aren’t already set in stone, then try to be flexible when planning. Scooting things one way or the other can go a long way toward keeping things civil, and hopefully, the teamwork won’t go unnoticed in case an important event pops up.
- Make the decision: The decision of who the children spend time with is for you and your ex to determine. Leaving it up the children is essentially like asking them to pick a favorite, which probably isn’t fair to them. Plan with their best interests in mind, and explain it after you’ve figured out the details.
Embrace the season, and work together to make a plan that’s in everyone’s best interest. It will take stress levels down in the short term, and the dividends could pay off big for years to come.
