Your parenting plan guides you on how to raise your child. It details the schedule of parenting time and how to participate in making crucial decisions concerning different aspects in the child’s life, including education, health care, religion, cultural practices and so on.
While you and your co-parent may have followed the plan, they may start acting in ways that go against its provisions. Here is how this may happen:
They refuse to communicate with you
Co-parents need to communicate. You need to update each other about matters affecting the child. For example, when you need to attend a school event or your child has a medical issue. Co-parents should also communicate during exchange days to avoid misunderstandings.
If your co-parent refuses to talk to you, perhaps they don’t answer your calls or reply to your text messages or emails, you should be concerned. You should also be worried if they make decisions without communicating with you. For example, you find out they approved your child to join a particular club in school without asking for your input.
They keep your child from contacting you
Chances are your parenting plan provides details on how you can communicate with your child when they are with the other parent. If you agreed that the child can contact either parent, for instance, every evening after school, but this is being prevented, your co-parent may be acting inappropriately.
Your co-parent may do this by refusing to give your child their phone or creating excuses why your child can’t speak with you. They may even have conditions you must meet before talking to your child.
Working with an uncooperative co-parent can be stressful. If you believe your co-parent is deliberately going against the parenting plan, consider legal guidance to protect your parental rights.