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1 field card, one per page: A two-home calendar your kid can read.

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Dad Field Manual · Field card 95 · Co-Parenting

A two-home calendar your kid can read

"Which house am I at on Thursday?" is a fair question, and kids ask it a lot. Make a calendar together that answers it at a glance, keep it where they can see it, and update it every week.

Time
45 min
Cost
About $10
Ages
3 to 12
Where
Kitchen table, then the fridge

What you need

  • A printed month calendar with big squares, or a dry-erase month board
  • Two colors of marker, dot sticker or washi tape, one for each home
  • Small pictures: a house for each home, a car for handoffs, a ball for practice
  • Magnets or tape to hang it at kid height
  • Your parenting schedule and the school calendar

Before you start

  • The calendar shows the schedule, it doesn't set it. Copy your court order or written agreement exactly. Changes go through your co-parent, and a family-law attorney if needed.
  • Kids are never messengers. Don't send the calendar over to "show your mom" or ask your kid to confirm dates with the other house. Share it adult to adult.
  • If a handoff ever feels unsafe, leave and call 911.

Steps

  1. Get the schedule straight first. On your own, write out the next month from your parenting plan and confirm anything unclear with your co-parent.
  2. Pick a color for each home. Let your kid pick one color for each home and say both homes the same warm way.
  3. Fill in the days together. Read the schedule aloud while your kid colors each day; mark handoff days with a car and the time.
  4. Hang it where they look every day. Hang it at kid height, show them how to find today, and offer your co-parent a copy.
  5. Update it every Sunday. Every Sunday, take five minutes to cross off last week and check the next one against your plan.

If it stalls

  • If the schedule changes midweek, fix the calendar the same day and tell your kid plainly: "Change of plan: you're at Mom's Friday night instead. Let's fix the calendar."
  • If your kid counts down to leaving your house, don't take it personally. Say, "You're excited to see Mom. Good." A calendar that shows both homes warmly is doing its job.
Sunday updates done
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date