As a parent, it’s realistic to want to be able to pick up and drop off your child for custody exchanges without having to worry about conflicts. It should be easy: You should bring your child to the other home or have them picked up at yours. You shouldn’t even need to speak with the other parent most of the time.
Unfortunately, if you are a parent who struggles to make these exchanges without running into a conflict with the other parent, custody exchanges can become tense and upsetting to you. If the other parent is being aggressive or rude, you may not even take steps to avoid talking to them when you need to.
How can you make things better?
One option may be to switch your drop-off and pick-up locations. If you change to a public location, this may help you reduce the likelihood of conflict. For example, you might switch custody at a local police station or library, so there are other people around to minimize the risk of conflict.
Another option could be to avoid speaking with the parent at these pick-up and drop-off times and to use a court-monitored program to communicate instead. For example, you may send them messages through the program and have your child wait at the door for the other parent, so you don’t have to come into contact with them at all.
It’s possible to reduce conflicts by going back to court, too. If you need to, you can provide evidence to the court of the other parent causing conflicts and ask to have a modification of custody. In some cases, a parent who continues to cause conflicts could lose their right to custody or be forced to have supervised visitation, which reduces the risk of conflicts with you directly.
You may have legal options that can stop these constant conflicts
It’s important to look into the options if your custody exchanges are conflict-ridden. Your child doesn’t deserve to see their parents fight, and you can take action to minimize the risk of those arguments or fights happening so frequently.