Merry sharing Christmas

For those families where the parents are living apart and will be separated over the Christmas period, every effort should be made to reach an agreement over the sharing of time so that both mother and father may spend part of the main festive days with the children.

The highlight days are usually considered to be Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and some parents like to share the time over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day as well.

The Family Court does not tend to get over excited about contact at Christmas, as professionals know that its importance is far greater for the parents than the children.    The children will want to spend time with both mum and dad, and probably will be keen to get two sets of presents as well, but the special quality of the festive day in question is unlikely to be of great significance for children.

So it is up to the parents to be grown up about sharing  Christmas time and always put the children first.

This is also a unique Christmas, with Covid restrictions very likely.  The rules are still the same as they have been since March 2020, namely that separated parents can travel between households and have children stay overnight for the purposes of contact.

Mediation is the best way of resolving children issues between separated parents and if you need legal advice,  contact a family law specialist

Friday, January 22nd, 2021 Children