Child custody exchanges between parents can be happy, peaceful, awkward, or downright horrible, depending on the relationship or issues between you and your ex-spouse. Family mediation might be needed in very difficult situations, but below are some general tips to make safe and stress free child custody exchanges and supervised visits easier on everyone. Therefore, this post will focus on safe child custody exchanges and what can DuPage County parents expect at their supervised visitation.

CHOOSE A NEUTRAL SITE

To reduce stress on all involved—especially the children—child custody exchanges and supervised visitation are often done on neutral ground rather than at the home of either parent.

Some potential public places for a custody exchange after divorce include:

• Your child's school or daycare
• A large department store such as Target, Walmart, or Sears
• The local grocery store
• McDonalds, Burger King or other restaurants in your area
• The parking lot of your city's police station or fire house

Any public area will generally have other people and/or security cameras close by, ensuring that everyone remains on their best behavior during the exchange.

Families in DuPage County, Illinois, might consider the DuPage County Family Center as an exchange site. If your divorce included mandated parent education, the Family Center provides programs to improve the relationships between parents and children. The DuPage County Family Center also offers supervised visitation if requested by a parent and/or ordered by the court.  The video below will highlight what can DuPage County parents expect at their supervised visitation.

SET SOME GROUND RULES

To make an already difficult situation a little easier, both parents can agree to certain tenets for the exchange or visits.

One of the most important rules is consistently being on time. The site CustodyZen.com explains why this little thing can become such a big deal.

“Situations such as traffic congestion will happen from time-to-time, making a parent late for an exchange.  But when one parent is consistently late it can be disrespectful to the other parent. Furthermore, it can be very stressful for the children and escalate conflict. Repeated tardiness to custody exchanges may result in legal consequences such as being found guilty of custodial interference, a crime in many states.”

Another ground rule can be that one parent remains in the car or at a distance during the exchange if meeting face-to-face will create a quarrel. Again from Custody Zen, “Depending on the amount of conflict, driving to custody exchanges can often…escalate a parent's frustration. If one parent remains in the car the other can assist with transferring the kids to the other vehicle.”

At the DuPage County Family Center, the exchanges and visits are monitored and documented in a neutral report provided to the court, attorneys, and parents.

USE A THIRD PARTY

If all else fails, have a trusted third party make the exchange.

You can enlist a reliable family member or friend, and there are now professional “supervised visitation and exchange services” in many states. Two options are the Supervised Visitation Network and Family Wise. There is a cost involved for these services, and it's critical to ensure that the person you hire is trained and certified for the role.

It may take a little effort to create a workable child exchange, but it's important to allow children time to be with both of the parents they love—even when the parents no longer love each other.

Contact me to represent you in your custody, visitation, and parenting time case.  All of our clients know the answer to what can DuPage County parents expect at their supervised visitation and how to ensure safe child custody exchanges. We can help you start today. Schedule a consultation with our convenience online calendar below.