TalkingParents Offers Support for Co-Parents Over the Holidays
The holidays are a busy and exciting time for families everywhere, and parents in particular devote a lot of energy to make the season bright for their children. While the holidays tend to add complications for parents in general, it can be an especially stressful time for co-parents. In addition to all the usual holiday preparations, parents with shared custody or visitation rights must also navigate the holiday custody schedule, gift coordination between homes, new traditions, how and when the kids will interact with their other family unit when apart, and so much more.
Juggling these nuances on top of everything else can leave co-parents feeling drained and unable to focus on spending quality time with their children during this special time of year. That’s why TalkingParents hopes to provide support for co-parents and their families during the holidays with the following tips and tools:
Discuss and document the holiday schedule. TalkingParents can be an extremely useful tool for managing the holiday custody schedule. You and your co-parent can work out an agreement with each other using Secure Messaging or Accountable Calling, both of which keep all communications organized and documented. Once you’ve decided upon the holiday schedule, use our Shared Calendar tool to document your agreement. The Shared Calendar can be used to keep track of transition days and coordinate holiday-related events and activities.
Organize and coordinate gifts. You and your co-parent can document any potential gift parameters using our Info Library tool. This feature allows you to create customizable cards to hold important information that both parents need access to. If you and your co-parent choose to coordinate on gifts, you can manage all shared expenses using the Accountable Payments tool. This feature makes it easy for co-parents to make payment requests and securely send or receive money.
Address or establish traditions. It’s important for co-parents to think about any holiday traditions you had together previously. Will either of you continue them? If so, how will these traditions differ now that you are in a co-parenting situation? Streamline any discussions revolving around traditions, new and old, through Secure Messaging or Accountable Calling. Messages are searchable and call transcripts and recordings are available, making it easy to reference any conversations or decisions down the road.
Share special moments. Stay connected with your kids on holidays apart through our Accountable Calling feature. This tool includes Video Calling capabilities, so you and your children can share in special moments with each other, even when they’re not in your custody. You can use Video Calling to watch your child open gifts on Christmas morning or participate in caroling. Remember, it’s important to schedule these calls with your co-parent’s involvement.
Take care of yourself. With so much to be planned and coordinated, many co-parents find themselves feeling stressed over the holidays. TalkingParents offers a Personal Journal feature, offering you a safe space to keep private notes. Journaling can be a great way to decompress, allowing you to dump negative experiences and emotions and replace them with gratitude and acknowledgement. This method is called new cycle journaling.
“Consistency is key for children in shared parenting situations, which is why the holidays can be such a challenge. We communicate with our users daily, and many of our staff members are co-parents, so we know firsthand that everything tends to become more complicated this time of year when kids are pulled out of their regular routines. Healthy communication and planning are crucial for co-parents to create safe and happy holidays for their kids, so we want to support their needs however we can.”
-Heather Ruiz, Director of Marketing, TalkingParents
To learn more about how TalkingParents can support you and your family over the holidays, click here.