Building A Parenting Plan Around Your Child’s School Schedule

Parents with young school-age children encounter a lot more difficulties when drafting a parenting plan, as they must account for that child’s school schedule. This means that besides the terms of a basic parenting plan, parents with children in school will also need to customize their plan to fit their child’s day-to-day school schedule. This endeavor can be particularly complicated when children are between the ages of five and 13 years old, before they enter high school.

Development for School-Age Children

Understanding the development of children between the ages of five and 13 years old can help parents come up with more effective parenting plans. For instance, it is around this time that children start to develop relationships with their peers. Children of this age will also start to learn new skills and have opinions on activities that they enjoy, like sports, music, and clubs. It’s still important, however, for children to have free, unscheduled time. Children of this age can also start helping with family chores, so parents should be clear about communicating their expectations and helping them learn responsibility.

There are a variety of schedules that parents can implement to help accommodate these factors. Some children, for instance, would benefit from having a schedule that provides more of a home base, while others may do better alternating between two households. It’s also important to prioritize a child’s social activities and commitments when drafting a parenting plan, as engaging with friends is especially important for children of this age.

Common Custody Schedules for School-Age Children

There are a lot of different custody schedules that a family could end up using for their school-age children, but the most common include:

• The 5-2 schedule, or the 2-2-5-5 schedule, where the child spends five days with one parent and two days with the other;
• The two week schedule, where the child spends two weeks with each parent;
• The every third week schedule, in which the child spends two weeks with each parent and the third with the other;
• The alternating every two days schedule, where the child spends two days with one parent, followed by two days with the other parent;
• The every third day schedule, where the child spends two days with one parent and one with the other;
• The 4-3 schedule, or the 3-4-4-3 schedule, where a child spends four days with one parent and three days with the other;
• The first, third, and fifth weekends schedule where a child lives with one parent, but has assigned weekends with the other; and
• The every third weekend schedule, where the child spends every third weekend with the non-residential parent.

For help determining whether one of these custody schedules could work for you, please reach out to our legal team today.

Set Up a Free Consultation Today

If your children are between the ages of five and 13 years old and you need help coming up with a parenting plan that best serves their needs, call our office today to set up a meeting with dedicated Florida child visitation and time-sharing attorney Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. You can reach us at 954-945-7591 or via online message.

Sources:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.13.html

flcourts.gov/content/download/686031/file_pdf/995a.pdf