How does your schedule impact parenting time?

A recent law change might make equal parenting time a default in Kentucky divorce cases, but there are still several factors that can affect parenting time and the corresponding schedule that families follow.

Of course, parents must factor in the logistics of transitioning the child between their homes, but there are other details they must consider as well. One critical element that parents should not overlook is how their work schedules could factor into their parenting schedules.

Your work schedule could play a role in parenting time schedules too

If parents determine they will share equal parenting time, then they generally imagine they will establish a schedule where the children stay with one parent one week, and the other parent the next. However, developing this schedule is not often as easy as it sounds.

Both parents must consider how their work responsibilities and time commitments could affect this schedule. For example, parents should scrutinize their calendars and duties, and ask themselves:

• Does one parent’s career require them to travel regularly?
• Do they have a non-traditional work schedule, such as working nights?
• Do they have to be on call at work, and must leave at a moment’s notice?

These factors and a parent’s work schedule generally impact parenting time and schedules because they could, in turn, impact a parent’s ability to meet the child’s needs and provide childcare.

Parents must be realistic

This is not to say that one’s job could mean they have less time with their children. However, a parent’s work schedule is an important factor that parents must account for and carefully evaluate as they determine the schedule and parenting times that work best for them and the whole family.

No parent wants to jeopardize time with their children, but they must be realistic about how their work commitments could impact their parenting time. Even so, parents should also remember that they can always adjust their parenting times in the future as their work schedules or other commitments change.