Think about the school schedule as it relates to child custody

Now that school has started, parents who have child custody schedules will need to sit down with a calendar and take a look at the school schedule for the year. There are several reasons why this is a good idea to do now and not just on a month-to-month basis as the school year progresses.

One thing that you need to determine is where your child is going to be during times when school is out. Make a plan for half days and vacation days. This gives you time to determine if a parent can take off of work or if other arrangements need to be made. If other arrangements, such as babysitters or daycare, can be made in advance to save you the stress of trying to do this at the last minute.

Another thing to think about is transportation. On half days, the school’s transportation system will likely run normally. You do need to figure out if it will be safe for the bus to drop the child off at the normal location or if other plans need to be made. You and your ex might have to plan for someone to pick the child up at school. In this case, you need to make sure that the school knows the plan and find out if there are any special steps you need to take to make it possible.

You also need to think about what will happen in the event of an emergency. If schools closes suddenly, such as in bad weather, knowing that you have a plan for your children might make you feel better. Your child custody plan might cover some of these, but it is still a good idea to review the plans with your ex.

Source: Our Family Wizard, “Holidays, Parenting Time Trades, and Half-Days, Oh My!,” accessed Sep. 07, 2017