Weekend Dads series: for dads whose children live mainly with their mum and spend weekends or part of the week with you. If you are raising your children full time, see our Stage by Stage guides. Twelve days is a long time in a child's life. Staying part of their world between weekends keeps the relationship growing, rather than restarting each time you see them. What is going onChildren can feel a gap between visits, especially younger ones who do not yet understand time wel

Weekend Dads series: for dads whose children live mainly with their mum and spend weekends or part of the week with you. If you are raising your children full time, see our Stage by Stage guides. For many weekend dads, the hardest moments are not the weekends themselves but the pickups and drop offs. Tears at the door, awkward doorsteps and children who take hours to settle are all very common. What is going onHandovers are transitions, and transitions are hard for children.

Weekend Dads series: for dads whose children live mainly with their mum and spend weekends or part of the week with you. If you are raising your children full time, see our Stage by Stage guides. Different bedtimes, different screen rules, different food. Children moving between two homes often live under two sets of rules, and it can cause friction in both. What is going onChildren can cope with some differences between homes, just as they cope with different rules at school

Weekend Dads series: for dads whose children live mainly with their mum and spend weekends or part of the week with you. If you are raising your children full time, see our Stage by Stage guides. Whatever happened between you and your children's mum, you are still raising the same children. How the two of you communicate will shape their childhood more than almost anything else you do on your weekends. What is going onSeparation does not end the parenting relationship; it cha

Weekend Dads series: for dads whose children live mainly with their mum and spend weekends or part of the week with you. If you are raising your children full time, see our Stage by Stage guides. You drop the children back, drive home and open the door to silence. For many weekend dads, Sunday night is the hardest part of the week, and it is rarely talked about. What is going onGoing from full on parenting to an empty house in a matter of minutes is a real shock to the system

Weekend Dads series: for dads whose children live mainly with their mum and spend weekends or part of the week with you. If you are raising your children full time, see our Stage by Stage guides. When you only have the children for two days, it is tempting to fill every minute with treats and trips. It is sometimes called being a “Disneyland dad”, and while it comes from love, it can leave everyone worn out and you on the outside of everyday life. What is going onChildren nee