Children who have to spilt their time between two homes because their parents aren’t together any longer may dread the day they have to move homes. This is an emotionally charged time because they may be upset that they’re leaving one parent but happy that they’re going to spend time with the parent they’ve been missing.
In some cases, the stress of the day may come from a worry that their parents will argue during the transfer. This can make them dread the exchange time, so it’s up to the parents to ensure that this time is as stress-free as possible. These tips may be beneficial for parents who need to move their children between homes regularly.
Give the children time to prepare
Children need time to prepare for this kind of move. If you have kids who need to navigate such transitions, you may have to do a countdown with younger children, but older children may be able to handle that on their own. Ideally, you won’t have to rush through transfer day.
Avoid contentious discussions
When you meet up with your ex, don’t use that time to discuss anything that may lead to a disagreement. Keeping those discussions away from the children can help them to feel more stable. Additionally, they may be able to relax more when they realize that they don’t have to worry about arguments.
Plan a calm evening
If your children are going to your house, try to keep the evening calm for them. This gives them a chance to adjust to change of homes without having to rush to activities. This is a good time to have a tradition of a movie night or something similar.
Helping children on these transfer days is critical, so it may be beneficial for you to have a parenting plan in place. A parenting plan can help to provide you and your co-parent with guidelines to handle a number of situations that may come up throughout the time you’re raising children together, including transfer protocol.
