Most parents want to be better, to dole out the right discipline, be fun but not too fun, be a friend but still be a parent. It’s easy to think that you fail even when you try your best, especially if you don’t see your kids as often as you would like because of your Michigan divorce. When it comes to parenting time though, you can make up for all those hours you’re missing with your babies, kids, tweens, or teens and adopt a parenting time resolution or two in the new year.
Less Phone Time
We have become a culture that lives and sleeps by their phones. We may not want to be addicted to social media or texting or the never-ending scroll of TikTok, but it’s there so we partake. It’s one thing to spend your solo free time online but it’s another to use up precious parenting time on your phone.
If you and your kids are watching silly cat videos together, that’s great, but if everyone is staring at their own devices silently in the same house, maybe it’s time to edit the phone rules so everyone gets the attention they need and unknowingly crave.
More Patience
If you don’t already feel guilty about your divorce and child custody arrangement, when you’ve yelled at your kids you can be sure to feel the cloud of doom coming down around you. No one expects any parent to be perfect, but you sure don’t want your kids to leave your house and go to your ex’s feeling like the most memorable moments of the last visit you had together are ones where you got loud.
Some parents resolve to count to 10 before they react to any situation, others need professional intervention to find a place of calm. Whatever you do, improving your patience for your kids is worth the effort.
New Adventures
Do you and your kids spend a ton of time at home, watching television and just hanging around? If this is what you love and how you enjoy spending time together, great! But if you are itching to get out and about and you can tell your kids need a screen-time detox themselves, plan some adventures for your parenting time together. Visit an escape room or indoor mini golf. Or go for the free but equally entertaining options and find a new hiking location or park that you haven’t visited.
Resolve to Be Better
It doesn’t take much to make a memory as long as you and your kids are spending time together. And the great thing about parenting time resolutions is that you can make them any time of year. It doesn’t have to be January 1 for new choices to kick in. Before you get too hard on yourself about the choices you make, remember that it takes weeks and months for a habit to be made. So, give yourself some grace, make more room in your life for your kids, and enjoy the time you have with each other.
If you are struggling with parenting time as outlined in your Michigan divorce, it’s time to schedule a consultation with Femminineo Attorneys in Macomb, MI, to get the support you need and to make the most of every moment with your kids.