There are many different types of custody schedules available for you to choose from.  In this post we will be talking about the Every Weekend Custody Schedule.  Learn more about it and the pros/cons with it.  Finally see how you can use it  in 50/50, 60/40, and 70/30 physical custody arrangements.

What is an Every Weekend Custody Schedule?

An every weekend schedule means one parent has the child during the week and the other parent has the child every weekend.  The exchange and amount of time the weekend parent has depends on the physical custody agreement.

Pros of an Every Weekend Custody Schedules

This schedule is a great choice if it works well for you, the other parent, and your child.  This is often chosen if the parents live within a couple of hours of each other and is a way for your child to spend time with each parent every week.  Parents can have this schedule without interrupting  school or the other weekly activities.  Many parents also choose this schedule because of work, school, or frequent traveling.

Cons of an Every Weekend Custody Schedule

The biggest con of this schedule is one parent gets every weekend.  This may or may not bother you but really consider how it will affect  your life.  Some parents struggle with this schedule because they feel like they have the child through the hard week of school and the other parent can have all the fun with the child on the weekend.

50/50 Every Weekend with School Time Removed

The 50/50 Every Weekend with School Time Removed schedule is adjusted so both parents have the child 50% of the time.  It is adjusted by removing school or third party time; which is when the child is with neither parent.  The only time counted toward either parent is when the child is at home.

60/40 Every Weekend

The 60/40 Every Weekend schedule is adjusted so the weekend is extended through Monday morning.  The time is now divided so one parent has the child 60% of the time and the other 40%.

70/30 Every Weekend

The 70/30 Every Weekend schedule has the child spending two weekend nights with the 30% parent.  Usually the child is picked up Friday evening and dripped off Sunday night.

Final Thoughts

The best schedule is one that fits the lives of those involved.  Remember, you can customize it to work for you.  Do your research and find all the options available to you.  Wishing you luck!

What is supervised visitation?

Supervised visitation is when a parent is allowed to have visitation with the child only when a third person is present. This third person has to be approved by the judge, and is there to make sure that nothing dangerous happens during the visit.

Who has supervised visitation?

When a parent has a history that shows they have done things that are harmful to the children, the court can order that visitation be supervised. Some common reasons why a person would have supervised visitation include: a history or domestic abuse or violence towards the children, a history of drug abuse, a criminal history, a history of self-inflicted violence, or being absent from the child’s life for a long period of time. Basically, if the court has concerns that a parent may hurt or harm the child, the court will order supervised visitation. In the case of an absent parent, the court may order supervised visitation until the child is used to the parent.

How does supervised visitation work?

In a situation where a parent has supervised visitation, the court will approve the third person who must monitor the visits. The parents can then work out child visitation arrangements. Usually, supervised visitation isn’t more than a few hours. In some situations, the supervised visit happens where the third person is–at a center or neutral meeting place. Occasionally the visit can happen at the parent’s home, but that must be approved by the court. Depending on the court order, a parent may start with supervised visitation but he/she can can take steps to prove that they can have normal visitation.

If you feel like your child’s other parent is dangerous or harmful, you can request the court to order supervised visitation. This is necessary if there has been a history of abuse or violence in your family, or if you are worried about the other parent’s actions.

You don’t have to leave to have fun. Many parents, especially a non-custodial parent who doesn’t see the children often, feel pressure to do something big for holidays or breaks. This, of course, is fun and everyone enjoys it. However, it isn’t necessary to travel or spend a lot of money to have fun during spring break. If you have older children, it could be fun to look around where you live and see if there are things to do there. Play the tourist where you live, and you’ll discover a lot of fun things to do.

If you have younger children, they are happy to spend time with you. Plan some fun activities close to home–go swimming (if warm enough), play outside, sleep in the yard in a tent, etc. If the weather is still cold, you can have fun by playing games inside, watching movies, going to the library, etc.

A fun family activity is anything that you and the children do together. So, if you want to have a good meal, instead of going out, take your child to the grocery store and get groceries. Then come home and make dinner together. This is a good activity because you are working on something together and there is a fun result.

The same is true of any project around the house. Work with your children on a home project and you’ll have a good time together. You can build a birdhouse together, paint a wall, or build something else. Keep the project reasonable and appropriate to your child’s age.

You can have fun with the kids and not spend too much money during spring break. Focus on the children and staying close to home, and you’ll have a spring break that everyone loves.

In a custody situation, parental custody can refer to one of the parents living with the children and caring for them the majority of the time. This is also called sole custody. Parents can also share custody in a joint custody situation.

If parental custody is given to one parent, the mother and father need to arrange for child visitation. Child visitation is when the child spends time with the parent who doesn’t have custody. Parents should schedule as much visitation as the child needs to maintain a good relationship with that parent.

It is up to the mother and father when they separate to come up with the right custody and visitation schedule. They should create it based on what their children need. This is how they can continue to support their children.

Visits should be long enough for the child to bond with the parent. When you are working with the other parent to come up with a visitation schedule, keep in mind that visits should be long enough for the parent and child to spend time with each other and bond. In fact, the purpose of child visitation is to keep the parent/child relationship strong. This isn’t going to happen if you have one hour visits once a month. Weekends are a good time for visitation, because the child and parent can plan fun activities and do things with each other. It’s also good to schedule visits for the parent to have opportunities to take care of the child. For very young children this includes activities like putting them down for naps, feeding them, etc. For older children it means helping them with schoolwork and other activities, establishing routines, etc. Visits during the week are good for this (either evening visits or an overnight visit during the week).

Parents should help child with responsibilities. The first thing a parent should do when the child visits is to take care of any parental responsibilities. This means helping the child with schoolwork (if the visit is during a weekday afternoon, the parent should make sure the child is prepared for school the next day), projects, etc. It also means that if the child and parent need to talk about certain issues (perhaps the child has been having discipline problems at school, or is struggling with other things) the should do so. When children visit, the parent needs to establish the standard that they are in a role of responsibility and can help the child.

Spend quality time together. Once business is taken care of, parents should make sure that they have fun with their children. This doesn’t mean that the parent needs to spend a lot of money every week going to amusements parks and such, but they should make an effort to have a good time with the kids. Usually, kids are happy playing outside and going to the park with the parents, playing board games as a family, having a family movie night, etc. All of these are simple things that parents can do during child visitation. This also gives the child and parent new experiences to grow closer together.

Have your children make plans. If the children are older, they can be included in making plans for visitation. This is helpful for the children to get excited about going to visit the parent. The parent and child can sit down together and make some lists of things the child wants to do. They can plan out the next few visits with some fun things to try. These can be simple activities like the parent teaching the child to hit a baseball, catch a football, showing the child where the parent works, making food together, etc. The parent can also make suggestions to the child about some activities and see how interested the child is. The parent should make sure that they are thinking of things the children will enjoy and not trying to push their own interests on the child.

Schedule in phone calls and keep in touch through email. Most parents want to see their kids more than once a week. Children also change very rapidly, and if parents don’t have much visitation time they can miss out on important milestones with their children. There are ways to bridge this gap though. Parents can keep in touch with their children through the phone (and through text messages with their teenagers). They can also email their kids and find out what is going on in their lives that way. If the parent makes the effort to be involved, the children will be more likely to respond and enjoy their visitation time.