Co-parenting your children in a post-divorce world does not have to be a nightmare. With a comprehensive parenting plan, you proactively address many parental issues. What constitutes a good parenting plan, of course, depends on your situation. If you have children in school, though, you likely want to address both education and extracurricular activities in your agreement.
Parents regularly focus on custody, visitation, medical care and religious practices when drafting parenting plans. Modern parenting plans, though, are often significantly more robust. If you forget to include educational and extracurricular aspects when writing your agreement, you may be asking for trouble. Here are four subjects you may want to address:
1. Basic school information
In your parenting plan, you may want to designate which school your children will attend. If you and your ex-spouse live in separate school districts, you may want to decide which address you use for educational purposes. Also, you may want to require each parent to share scholastic information with the other. This may include report cards, standardized test scores, field trip notices and other basic school information.
2. Educational participation
If you want to actively participate in your children’s education, you may want to add school activities to your parenting plan. For example, you could choose to grant both parents the right to attend conferences, school events and other activities.
3. Extracurricular activities
Your parenting plan may also address which extracurricular activities in which your child may participate. If your child wants to add additional activities, your plan may also outline how both parents provide input or approval.
4. Educational fees
Both school and extracurricular activities can be expensive. While your custody agreement may outline who pays educational costs, it may not be clear on other expenses. Therefore, you may want to address foreseeable expenses in your parenting plan.
Receiving a high-quality education is one of the most important parts of childhood. If you want to raise smart kids, you must invest in their education. If you want well-rounded ones, you likely must encourage extracurricular activities. By addressing both topics in your parenting plan, you set expectations and reduce conflict with your children’s co-parent.