Making and Using an Effective Parenting Plan Calendar

Child custody and visitation can be a very difficult ordeal. A parenting plan calendar is a great way to make child visitation and custody run more smoothly. With a cohesive parenting plan, divorced or separated parents can make shared parenting work. If you want to make an effective parenting plan calendar, there are a few important things to remember.

First of all, be specific about your schedule. As a parent, work with your child's other parent to make a repeating cycle of custody. For example, share the week with a 50/50 split schedule such as dividing the week equally. Once a schedule is made, write it down and repeat it. This way, you may have your child for half the week and the other parent has custody of your child for the other half of the week. Once a set schedule is made, make sure it is writing. This makes for a more consistent schedule for your child.

Secondly, make provisions in your calendar for holidays, summer breaks and vacations. This holiday and vacation schedule will take precedence of your regular calendar. In order to make an effective holiday schedule, you should list all national, school and religious holidays and vacation times. Determine the length of time each holiday needs, when the holiday visitation begins and ends. Then each holiday can be divided fairly between both parents.

Vacations can be included in the holiday visitation schedule. Vacation time can be determined by several things such as school breaks. This time can be good for exchanges and visitation. It can also be used as a time for each parent to take their child on a planned vacation.

If both parents make a repeating cycle of custody and visitation and have an effective visitation plan for holidays, breaks and vacations, a parenting plan calendar will work. No matter your situation, creating a parenting time calendar is one of the most effective ways to outline how child visitation and custody work. Having a parenting schedule will allow both parents to worry more about raising and caring for their child rather than worrying about how visitation and custody will work. They will have a clear picture of how transportation and exchanges work and how visitation is outlined. A parenting plan calendar is an effective and useful tool that helps divorced and separated parents focus on their child and enjoying time with their child. Make a parenting plan calendar and enjoy raising your child through shared parenting.