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Help your kids celebrate fathers day

The Massachusetts Family Law Group reminds divorced parents to help their children celebrate their dads on Father's Day. No matter how you may feel about your ex, he is still the father of your children. It's important to support and encourage this relationship.

BY Emma A. Smith , Senior Attorney

Emma a Smith .jpg

MA, June 6, 2014 - Going through a divorce can be a difficult time for any family. This time of year can make things even more stressful, with all upcoming holidays and summer celebrations reminding everyone that things have changed.

This is especially true with the approach of Father's Day next weekend. No matter how difficult your divorce may be, it's important to remember what Father's Day is really about - making children feel good about doing special things for their dads.

As tough as it may be, this is not a time for mothers to refuse to let their children spend time with their dad on Father's Day - even if it's not technically "his weekend" to have the children. Not only does this stance truly take away from an important experience for the children, but it certainly can enrage any judge assigned to your case and make you look unreasonable and uncooperative.

Parenting time should never be about "your" time; it's about the children's time with their mom and dad, and keeping their lives as close to the way it would have been had their parents remained together.

The Honorable Catherine Sabaitis, First Justice of the Plymouth County Probate and Family Court in Massachusetts, is known to remind parents that there is no such thing as "your time," especially in instances where one parent is denying parenting time to the other on special occasions such as Father's Day. Her words emphasize the point that the best interest of the children should always come first, and this includes spending at least some time with their father on his special day.

While you may not like your ex, he is still the father of your children and they should never be prohibited from participating in a time honored tradition like Father's Day.

Divorces are messy enough for children. Help make life for the children a little easier by separating your feelings about your ex from their feelings about their dad. It's important to set a good example for them by helping them prepare for Father's Day by making cards and gifts for their dad, or just planning to spend their day with him. Helping the children do something special for their dad can go a long way in easing this difficult transition for the children, and it can help strengthen the co-parenting relationship between the parents.

Remember: While parents may divorce and end their relationship with each other, children should always be encouraged to embrace the relationships they share with both mom and dad.

For more information and tips on co-parenting, visit www.. Or listen to "Co-Parenting After Divorce," a weekly radio broadcast by Attorney Lucas , founder and president of the Massachusetts Family Law Group and its parent company, Law Group, P.C. It can be heard each Saturday and Sunday at 4:58 p.m. on WBZ News Radio 1030 in Boston.

About the Massachusetts Family Law Group

The Massachusetts Family Law Group includes nearly two dozen attorneys, paralegals and other staff who serve clients from more than a dozen convenient offices and client meeting locations across the state. It is a division of Law Group, P.C., with headquarters at 534 SE St, 855, MA, 01772.

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