The freedom that can come with the long, lazy days of summer often seems to come to an end too soon, at least for school-aged children. For their parents, however, the back-to-school season can often be a welcome thing as the school year provides a nice cadence of structure to their children’s lives. While this can be true for divorced parents these moms and dads may face special challenges when trying to help their kids prepare for the summer-to-school transition.
As explained by 2houses, an online and app-based tool for coparents, divorced or separated parents should collaborate on how to reintroduce routine to their kids’ lives leading up to the first day of school as well as thereafter. Maintaining a consistent bedtime at both homes, for example, can help children’s body clocks adjust to the change and be ready to wake up refreshed for school.
If children go to private schools, parents should have a clear plan on how to share the cost of tuition or other fees already set to avoid disagreements at the last minute before a payment is due. Whether kids go to private or public schools, there will be costs associated with going back to school as they will need backpacks, school supplies, lunch boxes and more. Parents should decide how these costs will be split and who will be responsible for getting all of the necessary items.
Co-parently adds that both parents remain active with their children’s school and teachers. This includes attending back-to-school nights, conferences and events together.
