Whether you’re one of many Ohio parents who hail the back-to-school season as a welcomed event (if only to send end-of-summer, rambunctious kids someplace else for a few hours a day) or are among those who wish they could cling to their summer vacation time with their children a bit longer, if this is your first back-to-school since your divorce, you may be in for some fairly hefty challenges. If everyone cooperates, you may have the best school year yet.
Adapting to life after divorce is typically challenging on all fronts; so, it’s no surprise that when kids begin a new academic year, it may add to your stress level, especially if you and your former spouse disagree on some key issues along the way. If you’re both willing to compromise you shouldn’t have much trouble, although it’s always good to plan ahead to know where to turn for support if you need it in a pinch.
Ideas to help you avoid stress during back-to-school days
You might think that sending children back-to-school following divorce will not be any different that doing so while you were married. However, the reality is that being divorced can definitely lead to some problems where your children’s school year is concerned. The following tips may help you avoid complications:
- If you and your family schedule regular meetings, you can map out a week or two at a time and make sure everyone is on the same page with regard to visitation, transportation, homework, school activities and more.
- To the contrary, lack of communication may lead to complete disaster and cause tempers to flare, emotions to run in high overtime gears and may even result in legal problems necessitating a trip back to court.
- Sharing back-to-school responsibilities can also help alleviate stress, such as dividing shopping lists in half with each parent taking care of the items on his or her list.
- Parents who are willing to attend school events at the same time may be helping their children by allowing them to enjoy being together as a whole family on occasion.
You may have other ideas about how to make the new school year run smoothly. If your former spouse is cooperative, you and your children may wind up having your best school year yet. On the other hand, child custody problems, disagreements about which house children should be at and when, or any dispute regarding an existing court order may leave you feeling like the new school year is a living nightmare.
Other Ohio parents have successfully overcome similar obstacles by relying on strong family law support to rectify their situations. Knowing what your options are ahead of time may be half the battle.
