Site Meter Sympathy Pain » Blog Archive

by

Found this article on Parent Dish. Wanted to share it for all the divorced parents out there.

Ending a romantic relationship usually means you don’t see the other party again — you can excise that person from your life, minimizing the emotional upheaval of having to interact with that person.

Unless, of course, you have kids.

Divorce happens, and at a rate of nearly 50 percent. Many of those marriages include children, and spending time with your ex-spouse during the holidays can be extremely stressful, both for you and for the kids. Because so many more couples are deciding to go with joint physical custody, more blended families are spending Christmas together.

Following a few simple tips can help keep the anxiety and stress to a minimum, for everyone involved:

It’s Not About You:
Try to remember that holidays are for children. Be positive about your kids spending time with the other parent, even if it means you might be alone.

Take A Lesson From Scrooge: Gifts don’t have to be elaborate to show your love. Don’t try to compensate for the divorce with lavish gifts. Kids want your time, love and understanding. They don’t want you to spend yourself into oblivion to buy their love.

It’s Not A Competition
: Please, for the love of Pete, don’t trample anyone to get that “must-have gift” just to upstage your former spouse.

Pay Attention To Details: Work out, well in advance, exactly how the logistics of the holiday will go. When will the kids be with you? When will they be with their other parent? When will they see their grandparents, and with whom? Knowing the plan helps the wee ones feel secure.

Celebrate Together:
You may not live together anymore, but that doesn’t mean you can’t open gifts together. Consider having the holidays as a family, albeit as a reorganized one. Don’t worry what other people think; remember, it’s about the kids.

Most of all, remember that while you may have conflicts with your ex, your kids are innocent and they deserve the best possible holiday you can manage.


One Response to “”

  1. Thresa Reutlinger Says:

    I have a preview from the Paris Hilton video on my site. To bad it got relased onto the net for everyone to look at. She did not want it to be public as it was her ex Rick Salomon that lost it.

Leave a Reply


About Sympathy Pain

The "Sympathy Pain" blog is a father's view of what is generally viewed as "woman only" territory, pregnancy. The blog also looks into the blended family and how a new addition affects that family. "Sympathy Pain" is not a battle of the sexes sight, but rather, an open forum for moms and dads.

Sympathy Pain Author(s)

Blogging Flair

Parenting & Family Channel Posts

  • Monsanto Roundup
    With nine million litres of Roundup sold each year all over the world, the American agrochemical group Monsanto holds a world record. For the first time, a study led by Gilles-Eric Séralini [...]
  • What a proud parent does?
    So, there’s the looming talk of “candy at school” but thus far my son doesn’t seem to be any the wiser about how the whole “no more candy” came to be.  I’m trying to be objective, [...]
  • To prove I’m not the perfect parent
    My children are having a hard time with the fact that their mommy has been gone quite a bit lately.  And, I’m home now with no chance of traveling for quite some time and hopefully, if I do [...]
  • Cooking with Kids
    Bo is a great helper. I love to make cookies with Peanut. It's our fun mother/daughter activity. For a while, every time she took a nap, she'd ask if we could make chocolate chips when she [...]
  • Sleep: A Chance to Dream and For Mom to Get a Break
    I love sleep. It is in my top five of favorite things to do. Having a baby kind of ruins this though! The Little Guy is slowly getting better at sleeping. Many mornings, he's out cold at [...]
  • So, I really hate to complain but candy? Really?
    Here’s the deal.  You all know that my son is a talker and that thus far his teacher has been more than a little bit receptive to the fact that he NEVER.SHUTS.UP.  She seems to be [...]
  • Ok, so let’s talking Parenting…mmmkay?
    Ok, so yea, I get it, I’m a parent but not everyone wants to hear me tell parenting stories.  So, I figure, I’ll give you one little parenting story and then guide you in the direction of [...]
  • Do You Pull Up?
    The other day, I was working. I really was. I was doing some research, and I happened upon an article about Tori Spelling. She talked about her son, Liam's, potty training process. Here's a [...]
  • Electroshocking Toddlers?
    American psychiatry still regards electroconvulsive therapy as a respected treatment, even for kids. Although ECT for young children is nowhere near as common as for adults, most U.S. states [...]
  • Babies having babies.
    Mama always said that she was a 'baby that had a baby' when she got pregnant with me a mere WEEK after her wedding to Papa. She and I still look like sisters (I'm the YOUNGER one, dammit!), and we [...]

Hot Off The Press