Worse yet, you're the one left having to tell the kids that they're not seeing their father tonight - and you can take a fairly good guess why not too.
What you're about to learn is how you can avoid the no-shows. You'll learn what to do with consistent lateness and you'll learn the answers to if, when, and how to talk to your children about it.
Let's clarify here, what we're talking about here is when this happens frequently, so it's almost habitual. The slip ups now and then are understandable, and really, that's part of life. We need to allow our Ex's to be human after all and not chain them if it's rare. This is when it's a regular issue.
First up, you're quite right, it's very …show more content…
If the kids need to miss their sports for the weekend, do it for just one weekend. You need to be strong, to break the disrespectful cycle. Remember it needs to be a place that you feel safe and that lends itself to a good time together.
You may do this a couple of times before the message gets through but to most, they get it after that. Of course there will always be exceptions, however most fathers who genuinely want to spend quality time with their children will get the message and change their behaviour.
Do you cover up your Ex's problems with your children?
Many people feel that they're left to lie or cover up over what their Ex should have to explain themselves. It's a hard position to be left in and one that builds large resentment.
The point is, you know the ages and stages of development for each of your children - and the answer to this very much depends on both of these.
If your children are young, you should never lie to them, but you should most certainly protect them. These are adult issues, not child issues. To heap these sorts of problems on young shoulders is unfair to