Parent Network

Of everything you face during your divorce, no issue is more emotional or more important than establishing your custody and visitation schedule. Fair or not, mothers seem to be granted more share time with their children than fathers. As a result, many fathers are at a loss when it comes to defending their parental rights.

If the mother’s level of control of the children becomes unreasonable, so as to interfere with the father’s time with his children, then the father’s rights have been violated. Parents are legally obligated to adhere to the conditions of the visitation schedule. A parent who knowingly prevents or interferes with this court order may be considered to be in contempt of court. In some cases, this may lead to an appearance before a judge to explain why this happened, or a change (modification) in the visitation schedule.

Fathers’ rights are outlined clearly in the divorce decree and parenting agreement.

Some common parental rights that fathers are frequently denied are: the right to visit their children during the appointed hours, as detailed in the visitation order. Fathers also have the right to plan and schedule activities during this time. Most importantly, fathers have the right to be free of irrational demands and/or threats from their ex-wives during this time.

If your visitation rights are violated, there are steps you may take. Fathers may obtain an injunction to prevent the mother from moving with the children without giving proper notice. Fathers may also alert the police if the mother’s actions are interfering with his visitation time with his children. Most importantly, fathers may ask the court to modify the original child custody and visitation order.

Modifying the custody plan will allow you to expand your visitation schedule, allowing you more quality time with your children.

Essential Tips for Parents: How to Help Your Child in School

Here are several tips to implement if you are looking for ways to help your child in school. Creating a plan for your children’s education requires more than a fully funded 529 Plan to pay for college. There are 13 incremental steps (kindergarten to grade 12) that lead up to college, and how to help your child perform well in school each year takes planning and consideration that should start when children are babies. Parents should continue to revise and augment these plans, but some problems can be prevented if parents make some deliberate choices early on for their children. It’s much easier to start on the right track than to have to change routes in the middle of the journey. Parents should make important decisions about how to nurture their children physically and how to convey that they value education.

PHYSICAL WELL-BEING

The easiest way to help your child in school is by ensuring your child’s physical well-being. It is vital that students feel good as they try to learn, both at school and at home. For starters, making deliberate choices about what your children eat will certainly improve their health, but it also helps children to concentrate better in school. In her WebMD article, “Top 10 Brain Foods for Children,” Jeanie Lerche Davis describes ten super foods that will help children do their best thinking at school. Included in that list are salmon, eggs, peanut butter, whole grains, oatmeal, berries (e.g., strawberries, cherries, blueberries, blackberries, etc.), beans, colorful vegetables (e.g., tomatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, spinach, etc.), milk and yogurt (recent research suggests a tremendous vitamin D deficiency among children.), and lean beef (or meat alternative). Note the lack of sugar and white carbs. Making a commitment to serve the best brain foods to children will help your child in school.  Read more... (2284 words, estimated 9:08 mins reading time)

Permissive Parenting a Spirited Child – Does Your Child Rule the Roost?

There truly are many approaches to parenting. Most of us who are raising children now grew up with authoritative parents, you know “do what I say and not what I do” and “because I said so, that’s why” type of parenting.

As new parents we remember those years of frustration at what we deemed as parenting without reflection. As adults, we’ve read all the parenting books, we subscribe to the parenting magazines, we want to be the best parents we can possibly be. We’re organic, natural – living, flexible and easy going. What’s not to adore? We’re going to show the world (and our own parents) that parenting means peaceful, loving kindness and that we have all the answers, before we have kids that is.

Along comes a child, maybe even a few. If you have a calm tempered baby than he will easily fit into the normal parenting boxes that all the books talk about, and permissive parenting works pretty well. Positive Parenting books will give you wonderful examples to uphold and which work perfectly with docile kids.

But what about the spirited child? What about the rebel who seems adamant on making you pull out every hair in your head? The child makes you wonder ‘what did I do wrong’ because it’s so hard. You never thought parenting could be so difficult, and sometimes you feel like you want to run away and hide from it all. You may be in tears daily and you may ask God ‘why?’ You never signed up for this!
You cannot see any parenting errors. You’re being a wonderful parent, letting Johnny have his freedom and think independently as people should. You give explanations for everything you do, to live democratically; and yet you feel like your child’s energy could overtake you at any given moment. He drags you around stores and around play dates. You’re running ragged, you’re at your wits end and you want things to be different. But where are the real answers? How do things change?  Read more... (2180 words, estimated 8:43 mins reading time)