How Anger Affects Parenting Plans


While many parents formulate a parenting plan with good intentions, these plans often fall apart. One significant reason for their failure is anger.

Parenting Plans

These are orders by a court that instruct parents basically how to raise their children. Your Bergen County divorce lawyer can explain that they can be general in nature or very specific. Some parenting plans exceed 20 pages in length.

Problems with Parenting Plans

Many parenting plans do not work. Others are unenforceable. It is difficult for a plan to work when it is nearly impossible to anticipate every potential problem that can arise. Parents tend to focus the parenting plan on current logistics and do not take other possibilities into consideration, such as a job change or move.

Additionally, they may be silent on important topics, such as what to do when a child gets sick or the other parent does not comply with the parenting plan. Your Bergen County divorce lawyer can explain that these plans are often unenforceable because courts simply cannot mandate that people be good parents. They can’t force parents to be courteous or respect each other.

Reasons for Failure

Additionally, parenting plans fail for a variety of reasons. For example, parents may not have accepted their divorce and use the parenting plan to stay connected to the other parent. They may be angry because of their situation and they may put their own emotional needs in front of the needs of their children. Parents may experience frustration from being single and no longer married. In these cases, they may take their frustrations out on the other parent.

Some parenting plans are not well-written. For example, they may be drafted in a way that does not take the child’s developmental needs into consideration. The plan may call for long delays between parental visits or visits that are too long for very young children. Parenting plans that are not written with the child’s best interest at heart are almost inevitably going to fail.

Talk to a Bergen County Divorce Lawyer

If you would like assistance with drafting a parenting plan or need an effective legal team to help you through your legal matter, contact The Radol Law Firm to discuss your legal matter.
