A growing number of divorcing parents have told me that this means the children should spend an equal amount of time with each parent. For some families and children, this may be the best solution. But I also find that many children and families can t adapt very well to this. Some children are more flexible than others. Younger children especially find it hard to transition between two households with different locations and rules on a frequent basis.
Some older children like to take advantage of lack of communication between the parents.
In my opinion, equal-time arrangements work best when the parents can put aside their own conflicts and work together closely on their parenting responsibilities and expectations for the children. The Parenting Plan includes a mandatory form that you must fill out and submit to the court. It is easy to complete, containing paragraphs of items to be decided and boxes to check off with blanks for insertions. This tells the parents and the court exactly what the arrangements are and where the children are supposed to be at all times. You have the option to vary from the form to some extent to fit your particular circumstances and what works for your family.