A mom has come up with a brilliant way to help her child navigate the sometimes confusing schedule kids living in multiple households keep. Co-parenting is a challenge but little hacks like this one can make a world of difference!
Using just a dry-erase calendar and colored markers, she has devised a clever system to give her 4-year-old peace of mind. The best part? She encourages other parents to take the idea and try it out with their children.
Watch This Co-Parenting Mom’s Viral TikTok Video That Explains How to Create the Perfect Schedule for Kids.
@skywalkeraa16_18 Co-parenting visual calendar for your kiddo if they live in two households. This has been a huge at our house! ##coparenting ##tipsandtricks ##calendar
♬ original sound – Kinsey M
Meet Kinsey M who goes by the handle skywalkeraa16_18 on TikTok. Her 4-year-old was having issues remembering what days she will be staying with her other parent when she’s not with them so this mom created the perfect visual tool.
In the video, Kinsey explains that she numbers the days on a dry-erase calendar. She uses a blue marker for the numbers of the days her daughter will be spending with mom and a black marker for the numbers of the days she will be with her dad.
There are also red dots on certain days that her daughter will be coming or going from one parent’s home to the other’s. You can use different color markers for your system, of course, Kinsey was simply using what she had as an example.
The board is great because your child can look at it and count the days between the dots on the calendar to know how many days it will be until she gets to see her other parent.
“She’ll know sometime on this day, she’s leaving to go see him,” the clever mom.
“My daughter was struggling with transitions so making her a visual to look at has given her a sense of control over the situation which in turn has given her comfort,” Kinsey explained her motivation for cooking up the calendar.
The video has been watched thousands of times already on the video platform with many people so pleased by it, they are taking to the comments to thank the mom for sharing her trick.
“My teacher did this in elementary [school] for me and my different bus schedules when my parents split,” one person shared. “Super cool!!”
“My parents split when I was 7 years old, and I wish I had this as a child as I struggled big-time with the whole thing but especially spending time,” another person added.
“GENIUS MOM HACK,” a person wrote in all caps in reply to the video. “I will definitely be doing this!” she also said. “My [7-year-old] is having a touch time understanding the change I think this would help thanks.”
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If you are co-parenting or have other situations that require your child to spend time in multiple households, consider doing this calendar hack for them to help them with transitions. As one person commented on the video, “Everything is easier when you know what to expect.”
We can’t argue with that!