Teens and Divorce

    Parenting teenagers during divorce makes working out a visitation schedule challenging, to say the least.  While your teen is busy trying to exert independence, you still need to lay some ground rules to make sure that the other parent stays involved in your child's life.
    If you and the other parent divorced while your child was younger, the teen years can present some challenges in terms of your visitation schedule. Most teens have very busy and complex schedules that are hard to work around, so you and your ex have to be flexible on visitation times. The first thing to remember is that teens may look and act a lot like adults, but they aren’t yet completely mature. They still need to have two parents who are involved in their lives.
    Friends, school, sports, activities, dating, and jobs are essential to teens. If you have a visitation schedule that severely restricts your child’s ability to enjoy those essential activities, all you’ll end up with is resentment. Instead, you need to try to create a balance in your teen’s life. He or she should have plenty of time to do the things that matters to them, but also they have to make some room for spending time with parents at the same time.
    Be creative with your time-sharing. Some parents have a hard time being so flexible because it feels like a loss of control. In fact it is just the opposite - you set a minimum and then work with your child to make it work for everyone. It takes a bit more cooperation, but in the end, you will both have a better relationship with your child and he or she will feel more fulfilled and connected.

Legal Action Workshop offers divorce services in Sacramento, California.