Summer Activities for Kids with Divorced Parents – Top 10 Tips

How to Plan Summer Activities for Kids with Divorced Parents Without Conflict

Summer, and those carefree days that kids dream about all school year long, has finally arrived. However, planning summer activities for kids with divorced parents can be difficult, especially when juggling work, vacation, camps and childcare.

This is especially true for parents who are separated or divorced. Trying to coordinate summer schedules can cause tension and conflict. Although there is no easy way to resolve all the issues that may arise when raising children in two separate homes, there are some tips to follow to help make things easier for both the parents and the kids.

The first thing to do is to read over your divorce or custody decree if you have one, and/or review your parenting agreement. Make sure you have a clear understanding about what your agreement says about co-parenting during the summer months. Also, be sure to review the attached Court’s Standard Order which often adds more detail about Summer parenting terms. Make sure you review the financial obligations.

Planning Ahead for Co-Parenting During Summer Break

Unless your decree specifies otherwise, child support payments continue during summer months even if the children are spending more time with the non-residential parent. Review any clauses regarding extra expenses such as camps, additional childcare, travel expenses, etc., as these can add up. And don’t forget about planning ahead for special events such as Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day.

If you don’t have an agreement that includes summer activities for kids with divorced parents, then it’s important to sit down together and come up with a workable plan. If this is something you cannot do successfully, then you may need to contact your lawyer to help with this. There can be a lot to consider when working out a doable schedule including the logistics of transportation to summer activities, daycare, and back and forth between parent’s homes.

Try to remain flexible. Summer is often filled with celebrations, parties, reunions, and weddings. These dates may not conform with what is stated in your decree or with what you previously agreed upon. These celebrations may be planned for times when the children are not scheduled to be with the parent who would like them to attend the event. Communicating with your ex as early as possible about any special events, helps to avoid any scheduling conflicts. Schedules, like anything else, may need to be changed or modified.

Use a Calendar in the Summertime to Keep Track of Activities

As long as both parents are in agreement, you can deviate from your original plan. Putting it in writing though, is always a good idea. As the children grow, their needs and interests will change, so be flexible to meet what is in their best interests.

One way to avoid misunderstandings between parents when planning summer activities for children of divorced parents is to use a shared calendar. Both sets of parents should have a calendar spelling out activities, vacations, special occasions, as well as to what days and or weeks the children are to be at each house. Posting a calendar at both houses is helpful to both parents and to the kids. It helps all to see what is happening when, and what things to look forward to. Although a visual is helpful, especially for children, if it is easier to keep track of things digitally, there are tools and apps that can be utilized such as AppClose, or Our Family Wizard.

Don’t ask your children to be the messenger if you need to make a schedule change. As difficult as it may be at times, try to put aside your personal feelings towards your former spouse, and communicate without negativity. Remember, it is not a competition between you and your ex to see who can provide more fun experiences. The goal is for your children to have positive memories of summertime fun with both parents.

Be Supportive of your Children

Being supportive of the time they spend with their other parent and asking them about the things they did with their other parent in a supportive manner, will let them know that they are loved and their happiness is what matters. Summer is a magical time for children! With the right summer activities for kids with divorced parents, both households can create meaningful memories. So as trying as it may be at times, hopefully by communicating and working with your ex-spouse, you can both help make summertime become a happy memory for your children.

10 Fun and Affordable Summer Activities for Kids with Divorced Parents

Here is a list of some suggestions you may not have thought of:

1. Hunting for rocks and enjoying painting them.
2. Outdoor fun hiking, picnicking and going to the beach or a lake.
3. Organize a scavenger hunt for designated treasures such as plants, trees, leaves or hide some fun trinkets much like an Easter egg hunt.
4. Have a cooking/baking party which can be a very fun activity. My personal favorite was cooking homemade pizzas together!
5. Have an ice cream party and set up a Sundae bar with different flavors of ice cream and fun toppings.
6. Check out local libraries. They often have fun summer activities for children. Many have a reading program set up with fun incentives for reading a certain number of books. Going to the library with your child can help instill the joy of reading.
7. Kids love to create and build things. Think about building something together such as a lemonade stand, or a fort in the backyard.
8. Set up a backyard water park with sprinklers, or perhaps a slip in slide. Maybe even have a water balloon fight.
9. Go on a long bike ride together. Stopping for ice cream would be fun.
10. Plan an outing to a berry farm, and pick your own berries.

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