Children’s Birthday Parties with Divorcing or Divorced Parents

According to the celebrity news reporting outlet, Page Six, this past week, Kanye West accused mom Kim Kardashian of not inviting him to the bash she threw for their third child, he crashed it and later threw his own. Celebrities, they’re just like us. When parents are divorcing or divorced, a common issue that pops up every year is the children’s birthdays. Who will see the child when, who’s going to be throwing the party, who is and isn’t allowed at the party, etc. To simplify this issue, parenting plans often include a birthday schedule so there’s no Kanye in any situation, crashing the child’s birthday bash.

Florida court emphasize the importance of timesharing plans and prioritize the children’s best interests while supporting an ongoing parent/child relationship. Some popular ways to schedule parenting time for your child’s birthday are:

Scheduling a short visit on the birthday – When it comes to a timesharing schedule, the child’s birthday will fall on one parent’s timesharing day. It is common for parents to schedule a shore visit for the parent who doesn’t have the child on that day. Sometimes one parent is given dinner or lunch or a visit sometime throughout the day to ensure each parent gets to celebrate with their child on their special day. A schedule such as this works best when the parents live close to each other and when the parents have flexible schedules.

Split the birthday, giving each parent birthday time – Splitting the child’s birthday 50/50 is also a common parenting plan choice. Sometimes one parent will have the child spend overnight time with them the night before their birthday and the other will get the night of their birthday. This ensures that no parent is getting more time than the other on the child’s birthday. This arrangement has more flexibility and can also be scheduled around your child’s school and the parent’s work schedules.

Alternate the birthday – To ensure the child’s day goes smoothly, it is also common for parents to alternate the child’s birthday. One parent will have the child in even years and the other will have them in odd years. If you choose this option, try and make sure your child has a telephone call or video chat time with the parent they aren’t celebrating with that year.

If your co-parenting situation is not like Kim and Kanye and you get along with your child’s other parent you may be fortunate enough to be able to both attend and share your child’s birthday parties. It is very important to not feel pressured into doing this and it is very common for both parent’s to throw separate birthday parties for their children.

In Florida, parenting plans fall into four categories. The basic plan, the long-distance plan, the highly-structured plan, and the safety-focused plan. Every parent/child situation is unique so make sure to choose the option that works best for you and your family.

Source: Carlos Greer, Kanye West Throws Party for Chicago after crashing Kim Kardashian’s bash, PAGE SIX (Jan. 17, 2022), https://pagesix.com/2022/01/16/kanye-west-throws-party-for-chicago-after-crashing-kim-kardashians/