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Parenting Difficulties During the Holidays - Videos and Tips

The following videos show interviews of Miles Mason, Sr., family law and divorce attorney, discussing parenting difficulties during the holidays.

Co-parenting Through the Holidays WREG-TV Live at 9, Marybeth Conley and Alex Coleman (Dec. 14, 2006, Memphis, Tenn.).

Surviving Stressful Family Situations Around the Holidays Fox 13 Good Morning Memphis, Ernie Freeman (Dec. 18, 2006, Memphis, Tenn.).

Miles Mason Family Law Group, plc
Tips for Co-Parenting through the Holidays:

1. Plan early. If a dispute arises as late as November, it may be impossible to get a court date to resolve the conflict.
   

2. When in doubt, consult your attorney. Family law attorneys have a great deal of experience dealing with these situations. Take advantage of their experience.
   

3. Confirm all agreements in writing and spell out all of the details. Even if it is a simple e-mail, confirming the agreement can help prevent misunderstandings due to faulty memories.
   

4. Holidays are special. Understand that regular parenting rules do not apply. The courts treat holidays differently than school nights, school mornings, and weekends, and expect parents to share time roughly equally.
   

5. Being flexible is more important than being right. If a parent's plans change and a need arises for parenting time to be adjusted, even if the adjustment infringes on a day or two of the holidays, the parents should put aside personal differences and agree to the requested adjustments. Unfortunately, these changes always seem to be at the last minute and are always annoying.
   

6. Do not use kids as messengers, ever.
   

7. Parents should never share emotions with children. A parent having a tough emotional time during the holidays due to separation from the children should not share those emotions with the children. Even older teenagers cannot be expected to understand the loneliness of the first holiday season alone. Do not burden them with those emotions. In these situations, some children cannot help feeling guilty, responsible, or a need to help fix the situation.
   

8. Accept that there is no perfect answer. Children cannot be in two places at the same time. There is no obvious solution to the problem that others have figured out but have not told you.