Suggestions? Mom and dad live in different states, best visitation arrangement for our kids?

If mom and dad live in different states and need to share custody of our children what would be the best way to arrange visitation. One child in school, one starts next year, so school can't be interupted. Just looking for suggestions. Thanks.

Public Comments

1. During school stays with one parent. And summers stays with the other. Alternate holidays.
2. Well the parents should get together and alternate holiday's, as well as winter breaks, spring breaks and of course summer vacations. Not only does the immediate family miss the children, but the children have friends that they miss and would like to see as well..
3. if mom has them full time, i think it would be fair to consider dad for at least the long Christmas holiday and at least 6 wks of the summer.... it will not be easy no matter what.... but the kids deserve both parents if possible... God bless
4. one parent gets the kids on school days and one gets the kids over the summer and to make it fair switch it up.
5. Well one could get them for Christimass Break the other Spring then the other would get Summer ect you get the point and you could switch every year like your ex Husband could get them for Chirstmass break this year you you could then the next the other one gets them you get it? it should work.
6. I'd go with whatever arrangement creates the most "quality time" with each parent, because years from now, that's what your kids are going to remember. Seems like parents usually avoid messing up school by dividing up the holidays and making sure they have time off work. As a former kid of a really messed up home, the most valuable thing is time with each parent where you can talk and vent and deal with the inevitable pain involved in having divorced parents. (BTW, absolutely no guilt intended for you in that statement. I still think it's better for the kids if parents are making each other miserable!)
7. It's really based on the schedule and desired amount of visits for the non-custodial parent and the custodial parents schedule. Since you have children, you have to put your differences aside and split the holidays and breaks somewhat evenly to allow your kids to have both parents. If it were me....one parent would have Christmas vacation and the other would have Spring break every other year and Summer vacation would be a split. Weekends would be hard since it's another state but I would allow the non-custodial parent to have the option of taking the long holiday weekends with some notice and take turns with Thanksgiving. I see no reason to split the two kids unless it would be easier for the custodial parent or schooled child and it was agreed upon. Good luck and try to keep the planning between the two of you until your kids are teens with their own plans...no teen wants to visit their other parent when they have happy plans for themselves but teens of cooperating and understanding parents will usually choose to be with the family with some freedoms as well. Take care.
8. This is a tough one. Whatever you work out, please don't have the children stay with one parent during school term and the other during holidays. What happens is, they grow up associating one parent with boring school, and the other with always having fun - which is unfair. So you somehow need to split the holidays. If the children are only in kindergarten or first class, would it be a huge deal if they spent some time at another school?