Joint physical custody of the children is typically preferred both by separate or divorced parents and the state – since children tend to benefit from the steady presence of both parents in their lives. That means creating a workable custody schedule that determines when each parent is responsible for their child’s daily care, whether that means rotating custody every few days, weeks or months.
Before committing to a child custody schedule, parents may need to ask a few questions. These questions can help parents identify issues that may occur when following a custody schedule. Here is what should be factored into a custody schedule whenever possible:
1. How do parental work schedules affect the schedule?
Many parents do not have the luxury of deciding when they go to work or if they work from home. This can create some difficulties when creating a custody schedule. A custody schedule may need to be made around each parent’s work schedule.
Parents may also want to consider when they have custody of their child if they travel often. Parents who travel often for work may have custody of their child every other month instead of every other day.
2. What is the child’s school and vacation schedule?
Parents may need to consider when their child goes to school when creating a custody schedule. What time of day a child goes to school or leaves school can determine which parent is responsible for dropping off and picking their child up. Vacation schedules, too, may be important to think about.
For some people, parents may rotate custody of their child when their child leaves school. In other words, one parent may be responsible for dropping off their child to school and the other parent may be responsible for picking their child up after school. Parents may split vacation and holiday breaks, or rotate them, depending on their preferences and ability to work together.
3. How far apart do the parents live from each other?
Distance can create issues when creating a child custody schedule. The farther parents live, the farther they have to drive to pick up their child and the more disruptive switches are to a child’s routine.
If parents live close to each other, a highly flexible custody schedule can work. When they live at a distance from each other, it may be more appropriate to have one parent have custody during the school year, while the other has custody for long breaks and summer vacations.
Parents can reach out for professional legal guidance to discuss their child custody schedule options. Creative solutions are possible to many custody situations.