We hope our readers had a fantastic Fourth of July weekend. Indeed, this is an amazing the time of year because families enjoy the summer weather and have opportunities to take vacations and make lifelong memories.  However, it is an unfortunate reality for some parents (particularly fathers) because they can’t spend time with their kids, because of a dispute with the other parent.

But what if you were supposed to have parenting time over the weekend and did not? This post will provide a few helpful tips.

Be diplomatic – Indeed, being denied parenting time will make you upset, but resist the urge to make additional demands or threats. Yes, you can vent your frustrations to someone trusted, but trying to take matters into your own hands may make things worse before they can get better.

Know what’s in your order – Before making demands or threatening further court action, you should know that your custody and parenting time order should have a specific schedule as well as instructions on what parents must do before seeking a judicial remedy. If you follow your order exactly, you should be on track to receive compensatory parenting time (i.e. make up time) for the next holiday.

Get a court order – If you don’t have a court order for custody and parenting time, it is critical that you get one. After all, an unmarried mother has both sole legal and sole physical custody of a minor child; which means that they can dictate when the child may be seen and by whom.

The preceding is not legal advice.