Hi everyone. My son is 7 and has been given his mums (my ex) old mobile phone (was given it at age 3, so very used to using it). His mum moved over 100 miles away and I do the majority of pick ups and drop offs, however due to this, it means I'm only able to have him every other weekend and 50% of all other holidays. We have a court order that says we can FaceTime Tuesdays and Thursdays only but other arrangements can be made between us. If the calls go on over 20/30 minutes, the phone often cuts out and I can't call back.
Our son often says he misses us and his little sister (with my wife). He has picked up the phone and randomly called or texted before on quite a few occasions (when connected to WiFi as there is no contract associated with this phone). Every time he is told this is not a phone for texting, including to me, and is punished for it.
Today on our FaceTime he asked his mum in front of me if he could text me about a game we play together. He was told he must not do this again and he ended up sobbing in tears. I asked if I could buy a phone for him to use (which I'd be happy for him to use both ways if he wanted to) and got no reply.
He's a really lovely boy and the best big brother ever. We miss him a lot when we don't see him and in the court order contact was taken down from 3 calls per week (parenting plan) to 2, I was fighting for a joint lives with order and that was my priority/focus as advised by solicitor (and was successful).
Can I get advice please? The relationship with mum is very strained, she resents me for leaving the relationship and often says to him that I left them. I pay child maintenance every month and even increased it when he started school to cover any costs and avoid us having to talk about money. I can't have him crying because he can't simply text me - it's awful for him. What should we do? Negotiating with mum is likely out of the question unfortunately.