One of the hardest things for kids to do when their parents divorce is adjust to the fact that they won’t have both parents around all the time. Instead, they will only have physical access to one parent at a time. There might be times when they are with one parent but want the other parent, which can be a difficult situation to handle.
It can be challenging if your child prefers their other parent during certain times, like at bedtime. You can’t take this to heart. Sometimes, the child might have a special reason for wanting that parent, but it can also be just a random feeling. You need to discern the reason why they feel like they need their other parent to determine how to best address the situation.
When you talk to your child, try not to get flustered. Stay calm and remember that they have the right to have the feelings and emotions they do. Your job as a parent is to help them work through it so that they can move forward with life. This might be a challenge, but using the reason as a guide might set you in the right direction.
Try to let them call their other parent to talk when they approach the meltdown zone. Sometimes, this is all that’s necessary for you to help them work through wanting their other parent. Just hearing the other parent’s voice might help them to settle down.
You might need to include a plan in the parenting agreement for what will happen when a child misses their other parent. This gives you a blueprint to refer to agreed- upon solutions when the children need them.
