Co-Parenting During Summer Break

While parents and kids alike look forward to the more relaxed summer break schedule, co-parenting can become a bit more challenging. You have work schedules, childcare schedules, and your kids’ activities to contend with, but taking the time to address the matter upfront can help you sail smoothly into your kids’ summer break with nary a glitch. If you are facing parenting time scheduling concerns related to summer break or any other time, an experienced Illinois parenting time attorney can help.

A Less Structured Timeframe

In the summer months, time opens up a bit in the sense that the kids generally don’t have somewhere they need to be at a specific time every Monday through Friday. This gives you a bit more leeway to take a relaxed approach. While you may want your kids to stay with their primary custodial parent every school night during the school year, this is generally a lot less important during summer break. Summer break is usually a good opportunity for the parent with fewer overnights to spend more time with the kids. And if you and your children’s other parent live a considerable distance from one another, it’s a great opportunity to plan a longer visit with the parent who sees the kids less often.  

Negotiating a Schedule between Yourselves

If you and your children’s other parent can find common ground on the matter and are able to hammer out a summer break schedule that works for both of you, the court is very likely to accept your plans. Because you both want to maximize your children’s summer break and because there are fewer time constraints than during the school year, you may find that negotiating a summer schedule is something you’re better prepared to do in tandem. If you can’t come to a consensus, however, the court is very likely to order one of its standard summer visitation schedules. 

Factors to Consider

In your quest to nail down that perfect co-parenting schedule for summer break, there are a variety of factors to keep in mind, including:

• Your children’s best interests overall
• How far you and your ex live from one another
• You and your ex’s summer work schedules, vacation time, and the amount of time you have to spend with the children during the summer months
• Each of your children’s ages and the age-appropriate activities that are available throughout the summer months for them
• Your children’s scheduled extracurricular activities, such as camps, summer school, summer jobs, and more

Devising a summer schedule that successfully interweaves all these competing elements can feel like a challenging puzzle, but the benefits of making the most of your own and your children’s summer is worth the effort. 

An Experienced Illinois Parenting Time Attorney Can Help You Create a Beneficial Co-Parenting Summer-Break Schedule

Cameron H. Goodman at Goodman Law Firm is a seasoned parenting time attorney who is committed to helping you craft a co-parenting schedule that takes all the relevant factors into careful consideration, and that maximizes your children’s school break. We’re here to help, so please don’t wait to contact us for more information today.