Parenting Time during the School Year

 Posted on September 19, 2016 in Child Custody

No two school years are the same. As your child grows, his or her academic, social, and personal needs change and as he or she moves through different grade levels and schools, so do the schedules with which he or she must conform and the opportunities he or she can pursue. As a parent, it is your job to facilitate your child's academic success. If you have a parenting time agreement with your former partner, be sure to discuss the following with him or her as the new school year starts. Having these discussions beforehand can prevent confusion and conflicts later.

Extracurricular Activities

Your child might be interested in a new extracurricular activity, which might change his or her schedule or need for financial support. Talk to your former partner about this activity to determine whether it would be feasible for your child to pursue it and if so, how you will need to alter your existing schedule or child support agreement for it.

Scheduling during the School Year

A new school year can mean a new schedule, which you and your former partner may have to work around. Now is a good time to revisit which days your child spends with each parent and whether a new parenting time schedule should be considered.

Academic Expectations

Successful co-parenting is rooted in effective communication. Talk to your former partner about your expectations for your child's academic progress, such as a specific grade point average or even the expectation that your child completes his or her homework before dinner or any leisure activities. Also discuss what you will do if your child does poorly in school, such as hiring a tutor. Knowing how you will handle specific issues before they arise will make them much easier to handle when they arise.

Grade-Specific Needs and Concerns

When your child enters a certain benchmark year, such as entering high school, specific concerns may arise. For example, a high schooler might benefit from an SAT preparation course or you might want to start incorporating college visits into your child's schedule. Like other anticipated concerns, it if best that you discuss these with your former spouse before they actually become an issue. You and your former spouse might have very different ideas about what a child in a certain grade level needs, such as whether to purchase a car for your child when he or she becomes a licensed driver.

Work with a Kane County Family Lawyer

As the summer winds to an end and your children get ready to head back to school, talk to your former partner about any changes that are coming to the children's schedules or considerations that he or she should be aware of. If you need to modify your parenting time or child support agreement because of these changes, speak with an experienced Kane County family lawyer. Contact the Goostree Law Group today to set up your initial consultation with our firm.

Source:

http://www.cookcountycourt.org/ABOUTTHECOURT/CountyDepartment/DomesticRelationsDivision/ChildSupportInformation.aspx