Do you ever find yourself super frustrated that …
- you cannot reach your kids on the phone (for various reasons)
- they don’t reach out to you regularly
- you have no plan for regular calls
- you cannot seem to have private calls with your kids
- it always seems the other parents blocks these attempts at calls?
This list could go on and on.
Here is my thought on this….any time with the parent is so important, more important than any other activities for kiddos. I hear parents tell the other parent the child has this, that and the other. YES those things are important as children grow they need peers and they need social activities.
What shall you do? MAKE A PLAN!! The best thing is to have a good plan in place for calls or Zoom sessions with your child AND for both parents to really commit to making those happen. This is so hard on the parent who sees the children for less time. Nurturing time with the other parent, despite how you may feel toward that parent, is SO critical for the children to grow and develop and continue to connect and bond with the other parent.
So if you are the parent with less time, make sure you have a plan. Mediate or use a parent coach to facilitate the discussions around those schedules.
If you are the parent with the most time, recognize that this other parent has great value in the children’s lives. Each of you provide different things to the children so never underestimate how important that is for them!