While many parents are just now starting to get things together for the summer, parents who are recently divorced and those who are going through a divorce need to start thinking about the next school year. There are several things that you can work out now that can reduce your stress as your children embark on a new educational year.
The goal of starting your school year planning now is that you won’t have to do everything at the last minute before the new academic year. Early discussions about the following matters can help you and your co-parent cope and reduce conflicts.
How will the school expenses be divided?
The financial impact of a new school year can be considerable on parents. You have to figure out which parent is going to pay for what supplies, materials and extra-curricular activities. New uniforms or school clothes and shoes are also costly. Child support may or may not cover all of these expenses.
This might be outlined in the parenting plan or the child support order. Be sure to check those to determine if there’s already a plan before you discuss this with your ex so that you can negotiate from a position of strength.
What schedule changes are necessary?
A new school year means that there might be some schedule changes. This could mean that one or both parents will have to handle different duties. It might help you to find out what type of extracurricular activities your children plan to participate in so you can try to plan your parenting routines accordingly.
Anyone who’s going through a divorce needs to ensure they’re covering the child’s education decisions in the parenting plan. An effective parenting plan will try to look ahead and anticipate problems and changes — but even a good parenting plan sometimes needs to be modified.
