One of the most difficult things for divorced parents to do is to figure out how to help their children thrive after the split. The child custody arrangement is one of the cornerstones of this occurring, so it’s imperative that parents get things in order quickly. If this is your situation, make sure that you go into the custody negotiation sessions ready to do what’s right for your children.
The focus during this time must be on the kids. It’s easy to start thinking about what your ex did in the time leading up to the divorce, but none of this matters unless abuse was a part of the situation. Even then, you should only bring that up if the children were involved or if there is a reason to believe that they will become victims of abuse.
It might help you to remember that your children need to have a meaningful relationship with both parents, so being able to put your own wishes aside to make that happen will likely improve life for them. The parenting time schedule you set with your ex can help both parents to have time to build that relationship so many cases involve setting a schedule that allows both parents to have equal time with the children.
Part of the parenting plan is going to include rules and guidelines that apply to both parents. Make sure you consider these carefully because it’s possible that they might be misconstrued at some point. The goal of the parenting plan is to meet the child’s needs now so don’t try to look too far into the future as you work to come to an agreement.