11
Jun
2024

Hi parents, as the school holidays come to an end extra curricular sports, parent- teacher conferences, school assemblies, assignments, tutoring etc start back up again.

For some parents(of divorce/separation) it might be their first year without a partner to navigate the school year, for others it could be the same routine as every year. All in all whether you are newly separated/divorced or you have been separated/divorced for a few years the school year brings its challenges.

My parents decided to drop the ‘WE ARE GETTING SEPARATED’ bomb on me about two weeks into my first term of year 4 so let’s just say going back to school the following Tuesday (The Monday was the only day my mum and I ever took off during the whole separation) was a bit strange to say the least. There is a positive to this situation though I accomplished having the first separated parents in the grade. WOO HOO!!

Navigating school and divorce is no piece of cake. I for one didn’t like weekends because that meant the weekly Macca’s change over. If Macdonalds was aware of the amount of kids that do changeover there, they would seriously start charging. You go from seeing your parent’s everyday to weekend visits or half week swap overs and after a while it starts to feel as though you are an object being passed back and forth and all the while you are supposed to be happy about it. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!

JUST SO YOU KNOW PARENTS, telling your year 4 friends that you can’t make it to their birthdays because you are staying at your dad’s this weekend KINDA SUCKS.

It is honestly quite funny because when your parents are married they manage to be able to drop you off here and take you to this party or after school sport but the moment they are divorced it is like they forget what their duties are as a parent. I’m sorry but what permits you adults to start acting like children the moment you get divorced/separated. 

I know that it is hard to sit in the same room as your ex-partner but when it comes to your children it is best to separate your anger towards each other from your relationship/ the wellbeing of your children.

Your child deserves to be seen, heard and looked after because just remember that although separation means that the romantic relationship between mum and dad ends, it doesn’t mean that you guys shouldn’t/can’t be civil. The obligations you have as a parent still carry whether you are married or divorced/separated.

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