Children and teenagers often look forward to summer vacation with anticipation. They want to sleep in late, spend time with friends and enjoy travel with their families. Some even get part-time jobs to buy their first vehicles or save for other luxuries they want to buy themselves.
For parents who have just begun sharing custody, the summer presents countless opportunities for conflict and disruptions. Their disagreements can affect the children’s sense of stability and make co-parenting even more challenging.
There are many issues that parents may need to address proactively through communication with one another or clear terms in their custody orders to prevent summer vacation from becoming a stressful, miserable experience for the entire family.
What common shared custody issues tend to arise during the summer months?
Childcare disputes
When children are home all day without school, parents may require child care services. Disputes about what providers parents use are common, especially when one parent intends to rely on family members, friends or a new romantic partner to watch the children while they work.
Parents may need to have standards in place for child care to avoid unsafe scenarios. They may also want to add the first right of refusal to the custody order so that they can take the time when the other parent isn’t with the children.
Conflicts related to vacation
Traveling with the children can be a way to bond and heal after the chaos of a divorce. Michigan generally allows both parents to travel during their scheduled parenting time. They can travel within the state or even leave the state, provided that doing so does not disrupt the parenting schedule.
If there are plans to travel internationally, even someplace close like Canada, parents generally need consent from a co-parent to leave the country with the children. They may also need to make arrangements to alter the custody schedule to accommodate their travel plans. Disclosing travel plans well in advance and working out logistics with a co-parent can prevent arguments about vacations over summer break.
Working together to create a thorough child custody order and being flexible while addressing the unique issues as they arise can make co-parenting easier. Parents who understand the most common challenges during the summer months can create more effective custody arrangements and avoid many challenging issues that might otherwise arise during summer vacation.