COMMENTARY | As a divorced parent who shares custody of my children with their father, the story of a toddler who was inadvertently left at a Maryland Chuck E. Cheese's is a reminder of theimportance of communication. As reported by ABC News, the 3-year-old named Harmony was left at the restaurant after a large family party when both parents assumed she went home with other family members.
As often happens with divorced parents or parents who are not together, miscommunication might have been the culprit behind this incident.
When two parents live separately, it isn't difficult to understand they might be on different pages when it comes to what their child is doing or where they are. Parents who live together tend to be in constant communication, but divorced or nonmarried parents who share custody have to work harder to maintain communication.
In the case of Harmony, her parents share custody and each left, assuming she was with someone else. With my children, I know not to assume anything of their father, but instead I verify every plan, every date. It's not hard to understand how such an incident could happen.
When I first began reading about this incident, my first thought was "How could those parents not know?" But the more I read, the more I realized the challenges of parents who are not "together" makes such an incident possible.
It is fortunate things turned out as they did and Harmony was unharmed. Even though my children are older than Harmony, this incident is a reminder of the importance of checking, double checking and verifying everything that is happening with my children. When they are with their father, I will continue to always verify plans and assume nothing.
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