When you and your children’s other parent can work together, it makes everything easier for everyone. Having open lines of communication and a willingness to be flexible will go a long way toward helping reduce stress and keep everyone happy.
If you have a situation where you and the other parent are cooperative, you may want to tackle common custody issues by adopting an unorthodox parenting plan. The court’s ultimate goal is a plan that will be in the best interests of the children, so the details are not all that important as long as the plan will allow the kids to have meaningful relationships with both parents and take care of all of their needs.
Unorthodox means creative
The typical parenting plan outlines who gets the children and when. It typically follows a set schedule and has many rules about who must provide transportation and what time exchanges must happen. It can be stifling to the ability of the kids and parents to have open relationships.
An unorthodox approach may be more relaxed and less structured. It encourages the children to help lead the process and gives them some more power over the situation.
Examples of alternative approaches
An unorthodox parenting plan may be the best solution if one parent has odd working hours. Instead of the plan dictating when the kids are with that parent, schedules can shape where the children are and when.
Another situation may be where parents live close to each other and the children are older. In this case, the kids may freely go from home to home with no set schedule.
For an unorthodox plan to work, both parents need to be cooperative with each other and there must be excellent communication between all parties.