Sick Children and visitations

Well, this is my weekend to have the boys once again. However, I got a call from my ex-wife earlier in the evening letting me know that my six year old son, Jonathan, had been having some major issues with coughing all week and had a fever today that spiked to approximately 103 degrees. While we weren't supposed to get the boys until tomorrow after their baseball games, there was discussion as to what we should do.

Now, keep in mind that the relationship I have with my ex-wife is very good and amicable. While I know that my time with the boys is limited as the non-custodial parent, I wasn't going to force my ex to "give it up", but at the same time, I didn't want to feel that he just needed to stay there either and potentially upset whatever plans they had or place any undue burden. Not to say that she wouldn't take care of Jonathan in a heartbeat, but as a parent, I know it's my responsibility to care for the children in any circumstance, be it that they are very sick or anything that comes up.

Even though I got a call later that his fever had subsided, the doctor kind of made the decision for us, whereby he said he should probably stay close to his normal home if possible. So tomorrow, my 10-year old, Caleb, will be coming back with us and Jonathan is staying with his mom and stepdad. While I am bummed that we won't have both of them together, I understand this is what is needed for now and while Jonathan probably wants to come here no matter how bad he feels, I won't subject him to a 2 hour trip to have him more than likely come here and just go to bed!

I know that in some nasty divorces when the subject of sick children and visitation comes up, it gets VERY sticky. I'd love to hear about others circumstances and how they work through it. I think the whole point once again is that as long as ex-spouses are looking out for the best interest for the child(ren), there shouldn't be much of a question as to what to do in many situations, but unfortunately that doesn't turn out that way in a lot of scenarios, which is sad. The children shouldn't suffer--more, that is!

TAGS: Boys, Communication Between Exspouses, Dads, Divorce, Divorce Issues, Divorce Situations, Divorced Dads, Fatherhood, Fathers, Parental Responsibilities, Parenthood, Parenting, Parenting Styles, Raising Children, Sick Children
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