Helping Your Children Through the Holidays After Divorce

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Children of divorce

The holidays can be an especially difficult time of the year for divorced children and their parents. According to CNN, the United States Census Bureau estimates that nearly four million parents are faced with the challenge of helping their children through the holidays after a divorce. If you have recently filed or are considering filing for divorce, we have assembled a simple guide for helping your children adjust to the change.

Mix Old and New Traditions

Routine and ritual are very important to children. If you have recently divorced, do not be too tempted to throw out all of your old traditions in favor of new ones now that you and your partner have separated. Instead, keep a few of the old favorites, and attempt to work in one or two new traditions as well, particularly when some of the old ones are no longer possible.

Plan Well in Advance

When it comes to holiday visitation schedules, don’t wait until the last minute to sort out the details. If the visitation schedule has not been set forth in the custody agreement, work out a solution with your ex as soon and as calmly as possible. Put aside your differences and try to ensure that each parent gets their equal share of time, and never fight in front of your children.

Put Aside Competition

Avoid the urge to compete with your ex when it comes to buying presents. Instead, try to agree on a budget and discuss who is buying what to avoid double gifts. Equally, avoid the urge to buy a gift that you know your ex would not approve of just for the sake of annoying them. While you may, of course, have different ideas of what is acceptable, try to discuss specific gift choices calmly and compromise whenever possible.

Filing for a divorce when you have children can be an incredibly confusing and difficult experience. Contacting an experienced Illinois divorce lawyer can help make the situation easier, and ensure that you are fairly represented throughout the proceedings.