{"id":41894,"date":"2025-06-24T10:03:19","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T08:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stbb.co.za\/dev2\/?p=41894"},"modified":"2025-06-24T10:13:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T08:13:54","slug":"pulse-navigating-co-parenting-disputes-during-school-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stbb.co.za\/dev2\/pulse-navigating-co-parenting-disputes-during-school-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Pulse | Navigating co-parenting disputes during school holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The imminent mid-year school holidays provide a perfect opportunity for families to relax and spend quality time together \u2013 and for parents to bond with their minor children. For various reasons, including divorce or separation, parents don\u2019t always occupy the same home as their children. In the absence of a formal agreement regulating contact, disputes are commonplace.<\/p>\n<p>For divorced parents, holiday contact is typically pre-agreed and governed by the consent paper\/settlement agreement and parenting plan, which are made an order of court following the finalisation of divorce proceedings. Often, the parenting plan makes provision for the appointment of a parenting facilitator in the event of a dispute. In this instance, the facilitator\u2019s role is to act in the best interests of the child\/children and to guide the parents in reaching an agreement. If the facilitator is unsuccessful, either parent may approach the court to vary the terms of the divorce order.<\/p>\n<p>Predictably, things become complicated when the parents were never married and failed to conclude an agreement regulating child contact. In these instances, it is especially imperative that parents recognise that co-parenting conflicts may negatively impact their children. Accordingly, parents are urged to remain civil, avoid diminishing the other parent, and act in the best interests of their offspring \u2013 even where doing so doesn&#8217;t always align with their own wishes.<\/p>\n<p>If parents cannot engage with each other independently, they should approach a mediator. A mediator, who is generally an attorney or social worker, operates as a neutral third party to facilitate meaningful communication and co-operation between the parties, with the aim of enabling them to reach mutual agreement. During mediation, both parents must openly voice their concerns, ask questions, and attempt to resolve their personal differences. Consequently, compromise and clear communication \u2013 underpinned by the best interests of the children \u2013 are essential to <a href=\"https:\/\/stbb.co.za\/dev2\/blog-co-parenting-after-divorce-best-practices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>harmonious co-parenting<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, it is recommended that parents facing contact disputes consult with an experienced and reputable family law attorney to smoothly and expeditiously resolve disagreements.<\/p>\n<p>For professional legal advice, contact our family law experts at <a href=\"mailto:familylaw@stbb.co.za?Subject=STBB%20Pulse%20Navigating%20coparenting%20disputes%20during%20school%20holiday%20senquiry\"><u>familylaw@stbb.co.za<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;\"><em>This content is the property of STBB. We encourage the sharing of our content for informational purposes. However, if you wish to copy or reproduce our content on your own platform or website, please ensure that proper credit is given to STBB<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The imminent mid-year school holidays provide a perfect opportunity for families to relax and spend quality time together \u2013 and for parents to bond with their minor children. For various reasons, including divorce or separation, parents don\u2019t always occupy the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":364,"featured_media":41889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[102,137,193],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-published-divorce-child-and-family-law","category-latest","category-pulse"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pulse | Navigating co-parenting disputes during school holidays - STBB<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stbb.co.za\/dev2\/pulse-navigating-co-parenting-disputes-during-school-holidays\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Samantha Smith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stbb.co.za\\\/dev2\\\/pulse-navigating-co-parenting-disputes-during-school-holidays\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stbb.co.za\\\/dev2\\\/pulse-navigating-co-parenting-disputes-during-school-holidays\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Samantha Smith\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stbb.co.za\\\/dev2\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/805b4884d2d0620da8c730a20588b52a\"},\"headline\":\"Pulse | Navigating co-parenting disputes during school holidays\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-24T08:03:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-24T08:13:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stbb.co.za\\\/dev2\\\/pulse-navigating-co-parenting-disputes-during-school-holidays\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":395,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stbb.co.za\\\/dev2\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stbb.co.za\\\/dev2\\\/pulse-navigating-co-parenting-disputes-during-school-holidays\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stbb.co.za\\\/dev2\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/STBB_Pulse_June2025_II_s3.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Articles Published - 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