FREE 10+ Child Parenting Plan Samples in PDF | MS Word | Apple Pages | Google Docs

Broken families are one of the harsh realities of society. Couples often separate for a number of reasons, and the most affected ones are the children. Once the separation becomes apparent between couples, the question now lies on who would take care of the children. Custody battles may often go on for weeks or months, causing additional stress not only to the separated couple but to their children as well. To settle this issue civilly, both parents should come up with a child parenting plan that will help clarify both their roles and expectations so they can avoid petty arguments and focus on what’s best for the children. Read more about this in our article for today and if you want to get started with your planning, check out our free child parenting plan samples below.

10+ Child Parenting Plan Samples

1. Child Parenting Plan

2. Child Custody and Parenting Plan

3. Sample Child Parenting Plan

4. Simple Child Parenting Plan

5. Sample Child Parenting Plan Example

6. Child Parenting Plan Example

7. Child Custody, Access, and Parenting Plan

8. Child Support and Parenting Plan

9. Child Placement and Parenting Plan

10. Sample Child Custody and Parenting Plan

11. Printable Child Parenting Plan

What Is a Child Parenting Plan?

Planning for your children’s upbringing after separation is important for their physical and mental well-being. Working on a child parenting plan is a formal document that is developed and agreed by the parents of a minor child, and approved by the court, or if the parents cannot agree, established by the court, which governs the relationship between the parents regarding the child. This would formally clarify the arrangements, and commitments of child-rearing after separation. This is a team effort that has to be carefully planned by both parents to make sure all issues are covered and an arrangement is then agreed upon.

How To Create a Child Parenting Plan?

A child parenting plan must address certain issues such as the child’s education, health care, and physical, social, and emotional well-being, and must include a time-sharing schedule. The benefits of creating such a plan is that it will help everyone involved know what is expected of them, it sets out practical decisions about the children, and acts as a reference to go back to in case something goes amiss. But always take note that the best interest of the child is the primary concern when it comes to co-parenting. To help you create a child parenting plan, the following below are several factors both parents must take into consideration:

1. Daily Task

Come up with a detailed list of tasks for both parents that are associated with the upbringing of the child. Such as designation of who will be responsible for health care, school-related matters, and other relevant activities.

2. Parenting Schedule

There would be a lot of different schedules in which both parents must establish and think about, making sure that the child can share a fair amount of time between both parents. A time-sharing schedule means a timetable that must be included in the parenting plan that specifies the time, including overnights and holidays that a minor child will spend with each parent.

3. Understanding What The Child Wants and Needs

As mentioned earlier, your child’s best interest is the top priority of your parenting plan. You need to understand their physical and emotional needs granting some divorces can take a toll on a child’s life.

4. Communication Plan

Once your child starts moving between homes and you face the challenge of truly needing to keep all of their most important information organized and available in both houses, so it is important to develop a communication plan. Set up communication guidelines for a child-parent and between both parents as well.

5. Child Support

One important matter of child custody is child support, so it should be made clear how both parents would support their children financially. More than just what is covered by child support, have a plan for how to handle costs that might not be covered by those payments. Know how you plan to divide responsibility for these items.

6. Keep Track

Co-parenting isn’t a race on whose doing best, it needs teamwork and cooperation from both parents despite the issue of divorce. At stake here is the child’s relationship with both parents, and how they would help continue to love and guide their children despite the circumstances. So always keep track of your parenting plans and see to it if it is working well for everyone concerned. If issues should arise then you may need to change or improve some things.

FAQs

Divorce and custody battles can be severely traumatizing not only for couples but for the children involved as well. For the sake of the child, parents should at least try to be civilized and come to an understanding so they may work on a child parenting plan that will be beneficial for all.