A divorce can take a mental and physical toll on a child. If you have recently been through a custody battle with your ex-spouse and now have a joint custody agreement in place, it is time to start picking up the pieces and moving forward. Hanging on to the hurt caused by your divorce is not only bad for you, it is also horrible for your child. Before you know it, the holidays will be here.
If this is your child’s first holiday without everyone under the same roof, you need to work on making it special. You need to realize that your child will probably be resistant to the changes they have to experience this holiday season. This is why you need to make a plan for co-parenting during this time of year. Here are some things you need to do to make the upcoming holiday season better for the members of your broken family.
Create a Holiday Schedule With Your Ex-Spouse
Millions of children in the United States have to experience the holidays in two separate households. The first thing you need to do before the holiday season arrives is to communicate with your ex-spouse. These communication attempts should be solely about your child and their holiday experience. The last thing you want to do is fight with your ex-spouse when trying to plan out how your children will spend this time of year.
Creating a detailed schedule of holiday events is a great idea. With this list of events, you can work with your ex-spouse to devise an itinerary. By getting organized, you can avoid missing important holiday school functions and parties.
Ask For Feedback from Your Child
The holidays are no time to settle old scores or use your child as leverage to hurt a former spouse. If you want your child to enjoy the upcoming holidays, you need to show them their opinion matters. The best way to do this is by asking your child for feedback regarding how they want to spend the holidays.
The last thing you want is for your child to be miserable during this time of year because their entire holiday season has been planned out without their input. Instead of making this mistake, you need to get your child’s feedback and use it to create a plan for the holidays.
Work On Creating New Traditions
One of the main parts of the holiday season is carrying on family traditions. If this is your child’s first holiday as a member of a broken home, then you will need to make new traditions. Figuring out what these traditions will be is difficult. Allowing your child to have a say so in what these traditions will be is crucial. Forging a new holiday tradition can help you grow closer with your child, which should be one of your main goals after a divorce.
Using these tips is a great way to make co-parenting during the holidays easier.
