Half-siblings. I don't want my kids hurting.

[Visitor8]

I can understand It's horrible when the kids are brought into it. My son used to come back saying "mummy is fat" and all sorts of stuff that my ex's gf (at the time) had taught him. It was hard because I could tell how much he missed his daddy but he didn't like her at all.

Does she drive? Because the courts will order middle ground drop offs, when I went to court for the boys their dad lived 3 hours away, they said to meet half way. Also he can claim travel cost on his Child Support. I am also pretty sure the courts don't favour parents who move away and effect the children seeing the other parent.

It can be hard, but maybe it's in the best interest for everyone if you and your DH seek legal advice and get some sort of agreement in place. That way there is some stability for you all, and noone is missing out. 5 hours is a LONG way to travel, but it's doable. Matt used to drive 3 hours up and 3 hours back to get them, and the same to drop them off 2 days later, every 2nd weekend for over a year to see the boys. I have since moved closer to him (half an hour away) and everyone is happy

[Nat82]

Hi I have the same thing to look forward to At the moment we have the two boys (12 and 15) every second weekend and half of school holidays, but we will be moving interstate soon, so it will just be half of school holidays. Also, at the moment we don't really see the two girls (17 & 19) living in the same town, so I guess that will be less when we move.

I'm actually dreading how we will manage with the step children/children I think we will encourage their relationship when they are there, but when they go I probably won't bring them up too much. My step children are older and I would be worried about getting my children all enthusiastic and I don't think that would be recipricated.

Anyway, definately something to think about...