If your kids are like most, they may be sad to know that the summer break from school is ending. However, if you are like most parents in Indiana, you likely realize that your kids are probably ready for a return to some more structured days. There can be advantages to the school year schedule but there can also be some unique challenges to managing this when you and your children’s other parent are no longer a couple.
Lifehacker suggests that divorced or separated coparents can ease the pain of navigating the school experience by jointly meeting with their kids’ teachers. If it is possible to do this before the first day of school, that can be a bonus. This meeting can allow you the opportunity to explain your children’s living situation so the teachers are aware of who is involved in the kids’ lives, who should be picking them up and who to call when a question arises.
If it is possible, you and your former partner should try to identify a similar set of rules and routines for both of your homes. This will provide a nice level of consistency and stability for your kids and minimize the chance of a power struggle when kids are allowed more freedom at one home versus the other.
If you would like to learn more about how to help your children transition back to school when they live in two homes after you and your partner have separated or divorced, please feel free to visit the coparenting during the school year page of our Indiana family law website.
