For many families, summer is the best part of the custody year. It's often the longest stretch you get with the kids: weeks, not weekends. It's also the part that needs the most planning, and the planning starts long before school is out.
Know your deadline
Many custody orders ask parents to pick their summer weeks in writing by a certain date. In Texas, many standard orders use April 1. If you miss it, the order may pick the weeks for you.
Look at your own order now and find:
- The deadline for choosing your summer weeks.
- How many days you get.
- Whether the days have to be in a row or can be split up.
- How you tell the other parent, like by email or in writing.
Put the deadline on your calendar today. Your order's dates always win over anything in this article.
Plan the summer in four steps
- Start with the big trip. Decide which week you want for your family vacation. See How to plan a family trip around the kids' schedule.
- Add camps and activities. Swim lessons, sports camps and church camps fill up by spring.
- Leave room for grandparents. A week at Grandma's is a summer memory kids keep forever.
- Keep some weeks slow. Lazy days at home are part of summer too.
See the summer in KidNights
KidNights reads your order's summer rules and puts your summer on the calendar. Open the Year view to see June, July and August at once, with each kid's nights in their own color.
To plan the trip, open Plan a trip, choose With the kids, and tap Find dates. It lists the whole weeks the kids are with you. Tap a week, then Add a trip.
Summer ideas that don't cost much
- A backyard "camp week" with a theme for each day.
- Library summer reading programs, often with prizes.
- Free outdoor movie nights and concerts.
- A day at a lake or a state park.
- A "summer list" on the fridge where the kids add ideas.
Summer in a blended family
If you have kids from more than one order, summers can get complicated. Each order may have its own weeks and its own deadline. Try to line up your summer weeks so all the kids are home at the same time for at least part of the summer, if the orders and the other homes allow it. That's when the best family trips happen. See Get all the kids together on the same weekend.
Share the summer with family
Once your summer is on the calendar, grandparents and family with your code can see it. They can plan their own visits around your weeks and suggest dates, instead of guessing.
Key takeaways
- Many orders set a deadline to pick summer weeks. In Texas, it's often April 1.
- Plan the big trip first, then camps, then grandparents, then slow weeks.
- Find dates lists the whole weeks the kids are with you.
- In a blended family, try to line up summer weeks so all the kids are home together.
Questions families ask
What happens if I miss the summer deadline?
Many orders then set the weeks for you. Check your own order to see what it says.
Can I split my summer days into two trips?
Some orders allow it and some don't. Your order decides.
Do weekends still count during summer?
Often the regular schedule keeps going around the summer weeks. Your KidNights calendar shows it night by night.