If you live apart from your children, you may not be able to get the face-to-face parenting time you would like. This could be down to how the court split custody and parenting time, because you or the other parent has moved out of the area or because you are away for work or on military service.
Learning how to maximize virtual visitation can pay dividends in such situations. The opportunities to get together with them online offer much more opportunities than for parents in the past, who were only able to call their kids on the landline. Here are some ways you might not have thought of to use technology to enrich your online moments together.
1. Helping them with homework
Many kids will be used to collaborating on group projects online. Or they will be used to gaming with friends online. Each parent is typically better at providing assistance in some school subjects than others, so if you are the mathematician, let your child show you the math problems over a screen rather than stressing out a coparent who is better at humanities.
2. Creating together
Online programs are available to create music, and some make it easy to do this together. Whether you lay down the bassline to their beats or provide the cello to their violin, collaboration could result in something you are both proud of. Similar options are available for various other creative acts.
3. Traveling together
Once when mom or dad traveled, the children would wait to learn about where they went via a postcard or souvenir brought home. Nowadays, you can help them learn more about the place you are in real time via a video call as you walk around.
Virtual visitation done well can be important in maintaining parent-child contact, but it can never fully replace time spent face-to-face. Legal guidance during custody negotiations can help you get it.