How to avoid a frightful Halloween with your co-parent

 Posted on October 01, 2021 in Co-Parenting

The holiday season is filled with a lot of joy and fun activities for Texas families. But some divorced parents look to them with dread when navigating parenting time with their former partner.

Parenting plans typically include major holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, but others like Halloween are frequently left out. The keys to keeping the day “scary but fun” for your children are planning and cooperation.

Halloween options for co-parents

Since Halloween falls on one night per year and is a community-based holiday focused on trick-or-treating, it can be more challenging for parents to divvy up. Still, many options exist, such as:

• Alternating years taking kids trick-or-treating
• Splitting the day's festivities, with you going to school functions and the other taking the child trick-or-treating, or vice versa
• Scheduling who will attend public or private events happening on different days
• Putting differences aside – attending events and taking your children trick-or-treating together

Remember that your priority should always be what's best for your children. Holidays, especially ones built on fun, are not a time for resentment or confrontation.

Putting your child first

Co-parents sometimes overcompensate out of guilt over their divorce and feel the need to dictate all aspects of their time with their kids. However, listen to what they are most excited about. Maybe they’re looking forward to trick-or-treating with a group of friends chaperoned by another parent.

If you’re confident of their safety, you and your ex should be open to creative ideas that put your children first. Successful co-parenting is figuring out how to manage challenges that come along. For some, however, cooperation is just not possible. If this is your situation, have your attorney add Halloween to your parenting schedule.