When parents divorce and then move away from the other parent, often the child is the one who pays the price. It is common for parents and professionals to be concerned the amount of time and the length of time between visits. It may be easy to feel like face-time, email, and skype is enough, but the cost is greater than the loss of frequent contact.
There are many problems that families dealing with re-location may encounter. The first is limited parenting time, contact may be minimal or barely existent, depending on where the parent is moving. It is also not uncommon for the noncustodial parent to have to travel to the child on weekend visitations. This may require needing to book a hotel room and rent a car, just to spend time with your child. It may be fun initially, over time this routine may become old.
Extended weekends and holidays may also require a great deal of planning. Some parenting plans might even require that the child travel on important holidays without consideration of how that will impact the child.
Even if the parent makes an effort to visit their child on a regular basis, they may experience a loss of natural parenting time. The child will not see their child on a day-to-day basis. They will not be able to help cook dinner, set the table, do the laundry, teach chores, or even run boring errands. Time together may be strictly entertainment time.
Lastly, the parent who has relocated will miss a great deal of school activities. They will not be able to attend teacher meetings, PTA meetings, or award ceremonies. They will also miss many school sports activities and may not get to know their friends.
For more information about parental relocation, click here to read about it on the Cooperative Parenting Blog.
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