When you’re sharing custody of your kids after divorce, you probably don’t get to spend as much time with them as you’d like. That may be true whether you have 50/50 custody or only visitation.
That means you want to make the most of the time you have with them without completely running them ragged and stressing them out by overscheduling activities.
Following are a few tips for turning whatever quantity of time you have with your kids into quality time.
Leave your work at the office. If your kids will be with you for the evening, the weekend or longer than that over vacation, try not to bring your work home. That means no checking work email, voicemail or texts and no logging onto your laptop to work unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Make the most of your car rides. When you’re driving your kids to or from your co-parent’s home, school or other activities, use the time to catch up on what’s going on in their lives. You can also just give them the space to share their thoughts and feelings with you. If your kids would rather disappear into their iPods, maybe you can encourage them to share their music with you instead.
Make chores fun. If your kids are with you for more than a day or two, there will be some chores. It may be simply cleaning up their room, or you may need to do laundry, load the dishwasher or rake leaves. If they’re old enough, it’s important for them to have some responsibilities in both homes. However, if everyone shares in the chores, they get done faster, and you can even turn them into fun.
As your kids get older and their needs and interests change, you may find that they need you more. If you feel that a change to your custody or visitation agreement is warranted, your Rhode Island family law attorney can help you work to seek a modification based on the kids’ ages and maturity levels. As always, make sure that your primary concern is whatever is in your children’s best interests.
