being awkward
me and my ex spilt up 7 years ago and i have always let him see his 10 year old son on a tuesday night till 8 then a friday night till 8 then saturday at 6 overnight till sunday at 6. over the last couple of days he has been awkward because my son was invited to his friends house on the friday night my son wanted to go. so i texted his dad and he said no he isn't going. i said he see him more than most people get to see there dads and it is only one night. he said he wants him after he comes back and have him over night so i agreed. now he is refusing to bring him back saying he has no petrol i told him he should of thought of that when he took him last night. he says he is sick of picking him up all the time. but a few months ago he quit his job so now he dont pay me nothing. and now he says he should see him more cause the laws are changing.
i think he sees him enough and why should i pick him up and drop him off when he wants him and he dont even pay me nothing.
i just wanted advice on how often dads can see them and if the law is changing
Comments
That looks like pretty good regular time for your ex - it's great for your boy that he sees his dad so often in the week. It also looks like it's worked really well for all of you for quite a while. Do you think this is just a blip? I see you txted him to tell him your son wasn't going and I wonder if the problem is not so much what you said but how he was told. Non resident parents often complain that they're not asked but told about changes. My guess is that he didn't like you making a decision without consulting him first and so he's getting his own back.....
This could easily escalate. Bearing in mind that this is a recent problem why don't you say - look, let's not fall out, i want us to be able to cooperate. Can we talk about it?
I don't see how any law can say exactly what's right for every child! Surely it depends on how old they are, how far apart the parents live and most important, what the child thinks of it? I've read recently about actually giving children more of a say in the arrangements instead of leaving it all up to the parents. I don't know how they'd do that but i think it's a good idea. I was lucky cos when my son got to 13 he actually said to his dad - look, nothing personal but I don't want to stay over on Saturdays cos that's when me and my mates get together - and his dad was alright about it. I don't think your ex can dictate to you - you need to talk up for your son. Having said that, have you actually asked your son cos he might want to spend more time with his dad?
I don't want to sound harsh but what's wrong with you doing half the driving? Petrol is v expensive at the moment and i think it's reasonable to share it. I can see how he's thinking if he's not earning he can't afford it and you're thinking, he's not paying maintenance so i can't afford it.