Parenting plans are a great way for divorcing spouses to look to the future. The plans are a blueprint for how they will successfully co-parent and deal with issues such as where the children live, holidays, school vacations and cultivation of ongoing relationships with grandparents and other family members.
Depending on your circumstances, it could be important to address a few additional issues: cellphone and internet usage, and new dating partners, for example.
Cellphone and internet usage
If possible, co-parents should be on the same page for kids’ cellphone and internet use, or at least agree to respect each other’s decisions and parenting styles (Mediation can help with this). General rules could include no cellphones at the dinner table and no computers in the child’s room. A more specific rule could be that a child cannot get a cellphone or tablet until he or she reaches a certain age, such as 12.
New dating partners
Many parents want to make sure a romantic relationship is solid before they introduce the new person to their children. They would also like the same for their ex-spouses’ relationships. So, some parenting agreements have a stipulation that the parents must wait six months or another amount of time before introducing a new dating partner to the children. Variations on this can include when or whether dating partners are allowed to visit or sleep over when the children are home.
