Your children are old enough to understand what a divorce is and what happens during one, but one thing that you’ve noticed is that they’re having a hard time adjusting to the new custody schedule. You knew there might be some issues at first, but over time, you’ve realized that your children are having some real problems coping.
One of the main issues you’ve been seeing is that your children are going on the wrong buses to come home or are forgetting to go to the correct parent’s home after an after-school activity. Since one of your children is old enough to drive, you’re not very sure how to reinforce the visitation schedule.
Fortunately, there are some tips that can help. Here are three.
1. Talk to your children
The first tip is to talk to your children and see if there is a reason that they keep returning to the wrong home. Are they scared of something? Do they just get forgetful after a long day? Find out the real cause and address it.
2. Review the schedule with your children
Take the time to review the schedule again. It may be that a change would help make everything easier. For example, if your child gets out of work at 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday but the custodial parent’s home is 40 minutes away while yours is 10, you may want to consider switching around the custody order.
3. Take responsibility
In the end, it’s your responsibility to make sure your children are at your ex-spouse’s home on time. If you and your ex-spouse can, work together to make sure they get there even if it means driving your children there yourself after they make a mistake.
It can take time for new rules to set in. Be patient, and consider changing the schedule if it’s contributing to the problems.