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Tips for Divorcing Parents of Schoolchildren

By Nottage and Ward on July 24, 2022

A divorce is complicated enough on its own, but even more is at stake when children are involved, especially if they are young schoolchildren. How the parents proceed can severely impact the child’s development and define the relationship the child has with their parents.

Children often feel stuck in the middle of a divorce, which can lead to heightened levels of stress and anxiety. This can cause poor behavior at home and at school, inhibit their academic performance, and cause long-term mental health issues. Poor behavior from the parents can also affect how the child views them and have a detrimental effect on the parent–child relationship.

This is why you need a skilled attorney to ensure you go about the divorce process as simply and civilly as possible. Employing an attorney from our team here at Nottage and Ward, LLP will help you to approach the divorce in the most effective way possible. It’s also important you create a plan with your spouse as to how to ensure the comfort of your children during the divorce.

Here are some of our top tips for divorcing parents of school children.

1. Contact Your Child’s School

Heightened stress, anxiety and confusion at home can transfer to your child’s school life, and as you are unable to watch and parent your child during the school day, this can go unnoticed. Therefore you must remain in frequent contact with your child’s school to ensure that they understand the situation and are providing your child with the support they need outside the home.

Notifying the school also means you can create a more practical plan to ensure both parents are involved in their child’s school life. This could be providing the school with the new addresses and phone numbers of both parents and asking for report cards, invitations to events, and important school documents to be sent to both parents.

2. Attend Parent–Teacher Conferences Together

On top of notifying the school about the ongoing situation, you can navigate your child’s schooling in other ways. A way in which this can be done is by attending important events together, such as parent–teacher conferences.

This ensures that both parents are getting the information about their child’s learning first-hand. It also reinforces positive ideas within your child as they can see both parents are interested and care about their school life. It also minimizes friction between the two parents as it reduces the opportunity for miscommunication between the parties.

3. Communicate With the Other Parent

Communication is key in any divorce and is even more important for the parents of school children. Miscommunication between the parties can lead to increased friction and tension, which your child will notice.

Navigating co-parenting can be very tricky, so it is imperative that you remain on the same page as the other parent. Communicating things such as pick-up times, important events for your child and even current homework can help make the transition for all parties a little bit easier.

4. Put Your Child First

This is the absolute most important point. Your child must come first. Children pick up on a surprising amount, and at their young age, any negative emotions from the divorce can have a terrible long-term impact. Although you may be feeling a lot of hurt and anger, it is important that the needs of your child come first. This will help them adjust to all the changes going on and will protect their relationships with both parents.

You Need Our Help

To keep your divorce stress free for you and your children, you need the guidance of an experienced attorney. Here at Nottage and Ward, LLP, our Chicago family law attorneys treat you with compassion and care while still giving you expert advice.

Call us today at (312) 332-2915.