For most parents, a child custody exchange is simply going to happen in the home. The children stay with Mom for the weekend, for instance, and then Dad picks them up after work on Monday. At the end of the week, Mom shows up to collect them once again.
However, some parents cannot do this because there is too much conflict between them. The adults simply do not get along. Every time they see each other, it turns into an argument. It’s causing a lot of stress and making the divorce far harder than it has to be.
One tactic that may help is to choose a neutral place to exchange the kids, and make it a public place. Will having other people around cause the two of you to set your differences aside and act in a civil manner? It may.
Another thing to consider is that some neutral sites may actually fit with the schedule a bit better anyway. For instance, simply having the parent who has custody pick the kids up after school means that the parents don’t have to see one another at all. Dad drops them off on Friday morning, for instance, and Mom picks them up on Friday afternoon.
A final option is to do the exchange with someone else. It could be a sibling or a close friend. Again, you’re just hoping that having someone else around can defuse the situation, but now you can still do it at your house. You just need your friend to come over and be present for it.
Cases like this can be complicated and exhausting for parents. Make sure you know exactly what rights and options you have.
