- Whether there will be regular visitation with grandparents or other extended family members, and if so, how often;
- Sleeping arrangements for children and parents, including the children’s or parents’ overnight guests;
- Instructions for administering medication;
- Dietary requirements or restrictions;
- Preferred methods of discipline;
- Acceptable methods and frequency of parent-child communication while the children are with the other parent;
- Parent-to-parent communication guidelines;
- Whether the children need both parents’ consent for piercings or body art;
- Responsibility for routine vaccinations, dental care, and medical care;
- Acceptable use of technology, including internet, social media, and cell phones;
- Curfews for each child and anticipated exceptions, if any;
- Acceptable ratings and genre for movies the children may watch;
- Acceptable ratings and genre for video games the children may use;
- Which extra-curricular/school/sporting events the children will participate in;
- Participation in church/synagogue/mosque activities.
Additional Factors To Consider When Making a Parenting Plan
We recently discussed California’s requirement for parents to develop a parenting plan, also known as a “custody and visitation agreement” or a “time-share plan,” which is essentially a written agreement between parents detailing how much time the children will spend with each parent and a plan for making important decisions in the future about the child’s welfare and education.
Many of the factors in a parenting plan will be obvious, others less so. In this article we will draw your attention to some of the less than obvious factors to consider when developing your ideal parenting plan. Some of these items may be extremely important to your family: