Child custody schedules often take into consideration non-school days such as 3-day weekends, thanksgiving recess, spring break, winter break, special holidays and summer recess. It is common for divorced parents to split the minor child’s non-school days even in situations where the parents do not have joint physical custody and do not share custody on an equal basis during the school year. In cases where there is clearly a custodial and noncustodial parent, sharing the holidays and breaks or non-school days allows both parents to have a meaningful relationship with frequent and continuous contact with their children even though the parents are divorced and may no longer live close to one another other.
There are many different holiday and summer child custody schedules that can be implemented that allows the minor child to spend an equal amount of time with each parent. Each situation is unique so the best holiday and summer parenting plan for one family may not be the best for another family. The holiday and summer custody schedule should reflect what’s best for the children and will typically take into consideration many factors including but not limited to the age of the children, relationship minor child has with each parent, work schedules, distance between parent’s homes and more. This article provides example holiday and summer child custody schedules which can be modified according to your situation and what would be in the best for your children.
50/50 Summer Break Schedule
It’s common for parents to share time with their children over the summer break. The summer holiday is usually the longest break during a school year. School breaks are often 5-8 weeks or 2-3 months between May and September. During the summer break parents can alternate weeks, alternate every two weeks, or continue with the regular schedule and add larger blocks of time for a vacation period with each parent.
50/50 Holiday Schedule
It’s also common for parents to share time with their children on holidays. A common holiday schedule is where one parent has the child in even-numbered years and the other parent has the child in odd-numbered years for a particular holiday. Some holidays such as Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break or Christmas Break, Spring Break may be split in half each year or alternate years between parents. This depends on the family and what works best for the children and family dynamic.
Other Special Days
While courts often provide parenting guidelines which outline common days or holidays observed, there really is no set standard as each family may celebrate different holidays or have special days they observe. Parents can be creative and include any day they mutually agree on such as the parent’s birthday, child’s birthday, Halloween, 4th of July, etc.
With a little thought and creativity one can come up with a child custody schedule that evenly divides holidays, special days, summer and non-school days between parents so the minor child can spend an equal amount of time with each parent. Each family is unique so the type of parenting plan chosen and how the child spends time with each parent may vary between homes but should ultimately reflect what’s best for the children and support and encourage a healthy and loving relationship with both parents.
2010 Child Custody Coach. All rights reserved.
Source by Steven Carlson
