Mom's clever co-parenting schedule gets love from parents on TikTok
A calendar made by a California mom to coordinate how her daughter splits time between two households is having viral moment on TikTok.
Kinsey Morlang, mom to Dylann, 5 and Killian, 2, said she co-parents great with Dylann's father. Since Dylann is a visual learner, Morlang wanted to create something that simplifies how the weekly schedule works.
"I found that when she'd ask, 'When will I see Dad again?' and I'd say, '[In] two days.' Or 'One day,' she just wasn't grasping it," Morlang, a resident of Chino, told "Good Morning America." "It planted a seed in my head and I said, 'OK, I'm going to color code.'"
Morlang used a white board calendar and assigned a color for each house.
The colors change when Dylann will be staying with her mom or dad and red dots indicate that she'll be leaving and going to a new place.
"She loves it and it's given her a sense of control in her life," Morlang said. "She's no long fearful of transitions and it's been great."
Morlang shared her hack on TikTok, where many parents praised her for the tip on helping kids understand the concept of time.
Morlang said she plans on sharing a copy of Dylann's schedule with her teacher.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says keeping communication open is one key component for successful co-parenting. Read more tips from the AAP on how parents in two-household families can better work together.
Editor's note: This was originally published on April 27, 2021.