Holiday Time Sharing Ideas For Dads And Kids
As the Holidays Draw Near Many Fathers Are Exercising Holiday Visitation With Their Children. Here Are Some Ideas To Break Through The Awkward First Few Days
As the holidays roll around many parents make preparations to exercise their holiday time-sharing with their children. Most parenting plans provide for at least a week for each parent over the holiday break. Those parents most looking forward to this time are those who have long distance parenting plans as the holiday break is one of only two or three times per year that they see their children. Parents who go long periods of time between visits with children often have to overcome some awkwardness in the beginning of the visit and some preplanning of activities can get everyone feeling at home right off the bat. This very often applies to fathers exercising their visitation rights over the winter break.
As soon as the visit begins a lunch or dinner at your local Chili’s restaurant can be much more entertaining for children than it was last year as many of the chain’s locations have added tablet computers at each and every table. For an additional dollar you and your kids can play unlimited games which can break the ice very quickly.
Here in Central Florida there are hundreds of ideas for activities for time-sharing with children. During the holidays Disney World puts on Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party where the park is transformed into a winter wonderland; Disney style. The Very Merry Christmas Party can get everyone into the holiday spirit while bonding with the kids in the most famous theme park in the world.
After everyone is reacquainted it is important to remember that some responsible quality time is important as well. Some ideas for this point are to encourage the kids to bring their school books with them to show you what they have learned over the previous semester and if elementary age students have any homework over the break it can be very rewarding to help them complete their assignments as this is a very important element in parenting.
Other ideas include exercising with your kids, taking part in outdoor activities, and any number of hands on learning activities. It is important to remember that while having fun is a big part of parenting the much more important part of being a good parent who your children will respect and appreciate is by keeping structure, learning, and teaching responsibility. Be careful not to fall into the trap of the “Disney Land Dad” by keeping a focus on quality bonding time that encourages learning, responsibility, and physical activity. Make sure that the rules that they follow at the other parent’s home also apply in large part with you as most of the time the kids will respond well to such familiar structure and will respect you more for it.
Sean Smallwood is an Orlando divorce attorney for the law firm Sean Smallwood, Orlando Divorce & Family Law P.A. where he represents clients in all areas of family law and divorce. 100% of the practice is devoted to family law. As an attorney in Orlando, he has helped many families with a wide variety of family law cases including Divorce, Child Custody, Child Support, and many other issues.
