Sharing physical custody with your former Washington spouse can benefit your child. You might find it hard to balance out your respective holiday parenting time, but these tips can help.
Plan ahead
You and your former spouse should plan ahead for parenting time with your child during the holidays. Going by your official parenting arrangement is good, but you might have special plans for the holidays when spending time with your child. You might want to consider splitting it in half so that you each get your child. For example, you can have them at your home over Christmas while your former spouse has them during New Year’s.
Document any plans made ahead of time in writing so that you and your former spouse can avoid any potential confusion.
Communicate regularly
Stay in regular communication with your former spouse so you can stay clear on all the details of your holiday time with your child. When one of you has your child, the other might want to get in touch when preparing for the trade-off. You should also have a convenient, favored method of communicating.
Coordinate gifts
There’s a good chance that your child has told you and your former spouse about a specific gift they want. You might want to discuss that with your former spouse to ensure that one of you buys that particular present. Another option is to chip in together so you can both surprise your child with it. For example, if your child has expressed wanting a new iPhone or game console, chipping in together is a great idea due to the price of such gifts.
If you decide to chip in on one great gift, make sure to agree on who gets to present it to your child during your holiday parenting time.
Shared holiday custody can be successful if you and your former spouse coordinate and communicate. Your child will be better off when you make these efforts.
