Divorce courts typically urge Oregon parents to create a parenting plan to address their custody and visitation issues on their own. Doing so without court involvement allows parents to devise a schedule that coincides with their lives and takes the ages of the children into account.
Babies need to spend most of their time with their primary caregiver. This doesn’t mean a noncustodial parent has to wait until a child is older to bond with them. In fact, the more time noncustodial parents can spend with their babies, the easier it will be for them to transition to overnight visits when they get a little older.
A preschool-aged child may be mature enough to spend time away from his or her primary caretaker. However, it’s important for parents to prepare their young kids for overnight stays. Children in this age group are driven by routines. To have the best chance of successful visits with preschoolers, parents could work together to ensure routines are similar in both homes.
Parenting time is often easiest to coordinate for school-aged children. These kids tend to have fixed schedules and are more used to spending time away from the custodial parent. This isn’t typically the case with teenagers, though. Older kids tend to have busy social lives, extracurricular activities and part-time jobs that make it more difficult to spend time with either of their parents.
Child custody and parenting time are just two of the many issues parents may need to resolve when they get divorced. A divorce attorney could assist a client who needs help preparing a feasible parenting plan. Although the plan is likely to change as the children get older, having a document in place early might make the transition easier for everyone involved.