Are you worried about the way your child custody arrangement may turn out after divorce? This is a serious concern for divorcing couples in California who have the affairs of young children to think of. You may want to learn more about custody arrangements that you and your spouse might agree to.
Is alternating weeks the right solution for you?
Some family law professionals tout the alternating weeks plan as the best way for divorced parents to share custody of a child. This basically involves having the child for a week and then giving custody to your former spouse for a week.
While this may seem to many to be the ideal arrangement, it does have its downsides. The child may become confused being passed back and forth. They may also develop severe separation anxiety while away from a parent, especially if they are very young.
Are there any better co-parenting plans?
There are a number of solutions to consider when putting together a child custody agreement. For example, you may consider a system where the child can spend weekdays with one parent and a long, extended weekend with the other.
You may also consider a 5-2 schedule where the child stays with one parent for five days and the other for two days. This may be ideal for parents who work long hours at a hospital or on the road and therefore can’t tend children during the week.
You can also try an arrangement such as the 2-2-3 or 3-4-4-3 schedule. These are arrangements where you spend a certain number of days with the child and then give them to the other parent for a number of days. You then do the reverse the next week so that parents share equal time overall. All of these are viable strategies for divorced parents to consider.