I have Dd (nearly 6) with XP. DP and I have a Ds (15 months). The kids get on great and the adults are all on good terms.
XP takes DD two and a half weekends out of four. He lives and works at least 90 mins away, so never sees DD during the week.
When DD was at nursery XP would pick her up from there on Friday and there were no problems. Since DD started school though, she screams and shouts when he picks her up from me about not wanting to go. It might not be school that is the difference, it might be her little brother...
We’ve tried having XP picking her up from After School Club directly; same problem. She gets really upset and just keeps repeatedly saying that she wants to stay with me.
We tried having him FaceTime on Thursday evenings to make plans with her for the weekend, and she’d be fine... but come Friday even mentioning that she’s going to her Dad’s results in tears and shouting.
She seems to have a good time when she’s actually at her Dad’s. So we always insist that she goes. It’s gut-wrenching though. I’m at a loss for what to do to make things easier for everyone involved.
She’s been difficult in other ways lately- mainly around refusing to wear socks and/or shoes which resulted in her being late to school twice this week. But that’s been a common theme on and off for years. I’m only including this to show that she’s not giving myself and DP an easy time and only being difficult for her dad.
Any help with easing the transition would be very gratefully received!