There are a lot of reasons why it’s important that you encourage – or even require – your child to participate in scheduled visits.
First, your child deserves to have as normal a relationship as possible with both of his parents.
Living apart can create challenges to that, and it’s your job as the adult to facilitate good relations.
Second, children can get into the habit of using your divorce for “power plays” to manipulate events or curry favor from a parent.
If you’re experiencing those types of behaviors, the best way to reassert control is to make it clear that events like visitation are simply a regular part of life that is not negotiable.
One exception in this instance is when your children become teenagers.
It’s harder to force teens to do things they don’t want to do, and courts recognize that teenagers have some responsibility for holding up terms of visitation, not just the custodial parent.
If you’re having trouble making visitation work, contact the attorneys at Zelenitz, Shapiro & D’Agostino for a free consultation at 718-523-1111.