This mum’s calendar trick will make your co-parenting schedule a lot easier

Having to split your time between a mum and dad living in two different houses can be tough for kids.

Moving between houses and feeling a little bit overwhelmed as to when you are going to be where, it is no wonder some children find it a little stressful, much as we, as parents, try to make it all go as smooth as possible. However, one mum has come up with a little trick that might just take a little bit of the stress out of managing children's co-parenting schedule. Taking to TikTok to share her idea, mum Kinsey M explains: "My daughter was struggling with transitions so making her a visual to look at has given her a sense of control over the situation which in turn has given her comfort."

@skywalkeraa16_18Co-parenting visual calendar for your kiddo if they live in two households. This has been a huge at our house! #coparenting #tipsandtricks #calendar♬ original sound - Kinsey M

By creating a simple colour-coded calendar on a dry erase board, Kinsley, who is mum to a 4-year-old daughter, has eased her child's anxiety around when she will be with mum or dad – and when she will be seeing the other parent than the one she is with right now again. Beginning with a basic calendar with every day of the month already numbered, she shows that the days written in black are the ones spent with her dad. The days written in blue are the ones spent with mum. And finally, the days with red dots next to them indicate when her daughter will be travelling from one parent to the other. By doing it this way, her daughter can go to the calendar and count how many days until there is a red dot, so she knows how many days it will be until she sees dad again. On red dot days, "She'll know sometime on this day, she's leaving to go see him," Kinsey explains in the video. Needless to say, to so many of us trying to navigate co-parenting, this is such a simple, yet brilliant idea. And with thousands of likes, it is clear the mum-of-one's video struck a chord with parents everywhere.