Parents of toddlers who are going through a divorce will need to make the creation of a parenting plan a top priority. First, you’ll have to set up a temporary parenting plan that will be in effect while you’re going through your divorce process. Later, you’ll solidify the permanent plan.
This article will cover a few things you should consider when making your parenting plan for a toddler.
The unique needs of a toddler after divorce
The following information and advice will help you create a parenting plan that suits the needs of a toddler between 18 months and 3 years of age:
- Toddlers benefit from predictable schedules. As such, you’ll want to make sure that your parenting plan offers your toddler consistency and reliability when it comes to spending time with both parents.
- Since either you — or both you and your spouse — will be living in a new place, you’ll want to make sure that you childproof any new home you occupy. This way your toddler can spend time in the new location without the danger of getting hurt.
- The frequency of contact between both parents and the toddler should be a priority. An every-other-week schedule is probably not appropriate for a toddler since seven days can be an enormous length of time for a toddler to endure between contact.
- Your toddler could internalize anger and tension between you and your spouse. As such, you should create an action plan for resolving conflicts and arguments out of earshot of your child.
- Your child will develop, grow and change rapidly. As such, you’ll want to keep your plan flexible enough that you can alter it when needed.
Educate yourself about your toddler’s needs
Your parenting plan should reflect not only common information about childcare, but it should also reflect what your child requires for his or her development. The more parents learn about raising toddlers in general, and the more they get to know the unique needs of their children, the better they’ll be at navigating the transition between being a married parent and being a single parent.