Tips for a sweet Easter holiday for separated families
The Easter school holidays are fast approaching – will the time bring sweet treats for your family or leave a bitter aftertaste?
It can be a tricky time for separated families, but your children are looking to you to set an example.
So, what can separated parents do to make the holidays easier for themselves and their children?
Firstly, it’s important to remember that time arrangements for children are for the children’s benefit, not for the parents’ benefit. Parents need to communicate with each other.
For parents, it’s important not to argue in front of your children. Criticising the other parent when talking to your children or arguing in front of them is simply poor practice for your children’s happiness and development.
Your children love both of you, and the relationship that they have with both parents must be protected. Criticising one parent is like criticising half of themselves – children can take it personally and be deeply hurt.
To avoid conflict, Relationship Counsellors recommend that parents need to agree on arrangements, so there is no tension. Try to void a situation where your children may be drawn into the centre of the conflict.
Here’s a list of do’s and don’ts for families looking for a stress-free school holiday:
Do’s
- Do follow the terms of any parenting plan or consent order.
- Do arrange a Family Dispute Resolution Conference (mediation) with the other parent if you have not been able to reach an agreement in relation to parenting arrangements, or if you want to change parenting arrangements.
- Do formalise parenting arrangements with a parenting plan or parenting order.
- Do get specialist family law legal advice.
- Do follow the terms of any Domestic Violence Protection Order. Just because it’s a holiday does not mean you are exempt from following the terms of the protection order. A breach could result in jail time.
Don’ts
- Don’t take your children overseas without the written agreement of the other parent if you have a parenting order in place, or if an application for a parenting order has been filed in court. If you do, this is an offence punishable by imprisonment for up to 3 years.
- Don’t commit any acts of family or domestic violence including against your partner or children and do not expose your children to domestic violence. Domestic violence has a very broad definition and can include not only physical abuse but can also be emotional or psychological abuse and economic or financial abuse.
- Don’t denigrate the other parent in the presence or hearing of the children.
- Don’t change the children’s residence without the written consent of the other parent, or without a court order if such relocation would make it significantly more difficult for the other parent to spend time with the children, for example, relocating the children’s residence from Brisbane to Melbourne.
At Michael Lynch Family Lawyers, we can help you in all aspects of family law matters. For a fixed-cost no-obligation initial consultation contact Michael Lynch Family Lawyers by calling: (07) 3221 4300 or emailing: [email protected]
