What Type Visitation Schedule Is Right for You and Your Children?

Figuring out which parent is going to have the kids for holidays or birthdays can be difficult. Deciding who's going to take the kids to school, extracurricular activities, and on the weekends doesn't have to be as difficult, though.

Child psychologists note that there are certain things parents should consider when coming up with a visitation schedule for their kids. Consider their age and personality. One of the first things they urge divorcing parents to consider is their child's personality traits and age. They also should take into account both the extracurricular and academic activities they're involved in.

Before deciding on a visitation schedule, it's also important that each parent considers his or her own social or work obligations that may impact his or her ability to maintain a consistent schedule. Each parent should remember to build in time to shuttle his or her child between homes and to compensate for added fees of hiring help to care for his or her kids as well.

As for scheduling visitation, there are two different plans parents often go with that seem to come off as fair in judges' eyes, too. One of those is the 2-2-3 plan.

As part of this plan, mom may get the kids on Mondays and Tuesdays followed by dad on Wednesdays and Thursdays. For the duration of the week, or Friday through Sunday, the kids spend that time with mom again. The schedule then restarts anew on Monday with dad starting off the week this time.

Another popular plan, the 2-2-5 one, provides a bit more consistency during the week than the 2-2-3 does. While Monday through Thursdays on the 2-2-5 plan work exactly the same as it does with the 2-2-3, Friday though Sundays are handled differently. With those days, the schedule alternates between mom and dad each weekend.

For most families with toddlers or preschoolers, they tend to go with the 2-2-3 plan. And for those with older kids with different obligations, they tend to go with the 2-2-5 one.

If you are your ex are having difficulty in coming to an agreement as to how the visitation schedule between the two of you should look, then a Naples child custody litigation attorney may be able to help.

Source: Parents Magazine, "9 rules to make joint child custody work," Kate Bayless, accessed Aug. 11, 2017