Over the summer break, if you have a child custody schedule where you share custody with a coparent, be aware that that schedule may need to change. Even if it works well during the school year, when the children have more routine, they have a lot more free time over the summer, and their own needs change significantly.
From a practical standpoint, if you have young children, you may need to address childcare. Perhaps you and the other coparent are both full-time employees. The two of you may need to have a conversation about enlisting the assistance of grandparents to watch the children or hiring babysitters or daycare workers.
You may also need to change your own personal schedule. Perhaps you have some flexibility in your employment, but you work five days a week when the children are in school because that fits with their school schedule. But during the summer, you may want to switch to working three days a week so that you can watch the children on the other two days. How does this change when you make child custody exchanges?
Special occasions
Finally, think about any special occasions that may happen over the summer. This could include holiday plans, such as the Fourth of July.
It also includes any trips that you may want to take with the children. Parents often use their vacation time over the summer doing things like going camping, taking a road trip or even flying out of the country. You may need to modify your child custody arrangement to address this or at least discuss your plans with the other coparent.
Summer can be a bit more complicated for coparents, but planning in advance can help things go smoothly. Be sure you know what legal steps to take if you need to make child custody modifications.