Monday, May 25, 2009

Child Custody: Three Hints to Help You

By Dianna Nelsun

You're going through a divorce and you're trying to figure out your child custody situation. Where do you start? How do you get through all of the information that you need to? What are the best solutions for your child?

Take heart. There is a way to get through all of this. If you are willing to put in the time and the effort then you will figure out how to manage your custody situation and help your child through it too. Here are three ideas of how to do this.

1. Put your child's needs first. It can be difficult for a divorcing parent to put aside their own emotions and focus on doing what is best for the child. When creating your custody agreement, don't base your decisions on what you want or on revenge for the child's other parent. Try to be objective and think about your children first.

You know your child the best, and your child and custody situation are unique. You need to figure out the solutions that will work for you. Don't worry about appearing unconventional; adopt any method that helps you and your child.

2. Be flexible your custody and visitation schedule. Of course parents want to have the most time they can with their child. And, they should try to get as much time as possible. However, they need to remember that they are sharing the time with the other parent who also wants as much time as possible.

You can make a custody schedule that is fair to both parents. Base the custody and visitation times on what is best for your child. There are many options available and you can experiment with some of them to find out what works best.

3. Seek out resources. There are a lot of ways for you to get help during this. You can always talk to a lawyer, get information from the courthouse or online, download a custody software to help you make a schedule, go to a support group or try to mediation. Explore your options.

These ideas can help give you encouragement as you manage your situation. Try to remain positive and help your child remain positive as well. Once you get everything settled, you can relax and enjoy your time as a parent.

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