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Sunday nights can be very hard. First of all the weekend is coming to a close, work and school are around the corner. If you add on top of that the idea that you child or children have to be dropped off at your former spouse’s house by 6:00 p.m., the butterflies in the stomach only increase. The better way to handle exchanges is to look for “natural transitions”.
Whenever possible look for natural transitions. This is a drop off at school, camp, or an activity by one parent and retrieval by the other parent of the child or children. It is natural for the child to know the activity or school is beginning and they need to be dropped off. Likewise it is natural to know that the activity or school has ended so it is time to be picked up. This avoids so many possible problems including, but not limited to, awkward transitions at one another’s home or even in a public place.
If you are considering a contact schedule, seriously consider options that would include as many “natural transitions” as available to you and your children. These will allow for smooth transitions and avoids unnecessary emotional contact between the parents with the children witnessing same.
It is important for parents to communicate in raising their children, even in a divorce situation. That said, transitions are not necessarily the best place to begin a dialog about your children. A better idea is to pick up the phone when the children are not around, communicating through e-mail or texts, or even perhaps, if necessary, through a parent coordinator.
When coordinating your children’s contact schedule, keep natural transitions involved. It alleviates the butterflies and leads to the likelihood of a smoother exchange for everyone.