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At least this nails down when the person's parenting time begins and ends, and who is responsible for doing the pick-ups. Even better would be an agreement that says:
<blockquote>"Morgan will have the child from Friday at 4:00pm or the end of the school day, whichever is earlier, to the following Sunday at 6:00pm, every other week. If the Friday is a statutory holiday or a non-instructional school day, Morgan will have the child from Thursday at 4:00pmor the end of the school day, whichever is earlier. If the Monday following the Sunday is a statutory holiday or a non-instructional school day, Morgan will have the child until Monday at 6:00pm.</blockquote>
<blockquote>"Morgan will be responsible for picking the child up at the beginning of her parenting time with the child and Pat will be responsible for picking the child up at the conclusion of Morgan's parenting time with the child.</blockquote>
<blockquote>"In the event that Morgan is unable to care for the child during their parenting time, Morgan will give at least two days' notice to Pat.</blockquote>
<blockquote>"Morgan's parenting time with the child will be suspended during the summer, winter, and spring school holidays, during which periods the following special holiday parenting schedule will prevail ..."</blockquote>
In general, the degree of specificity in a schedule for parenting time or contact is directly proportionate to the level of conflict between the parties. I have seen parents in extraordinarily high levels of conflict work out parenting schedules that go on for eight ten single-spaced pages in mind-numbing detail, and parents in very low levels of conflict who can effectively manage a parenting schedule contained in a single paragraphsentence:
<blockquote>"The parties will share the child's time on an alternating weekly basis."</blockquote>
*spending time with a party is proving harmful to the children's mental or physical health and welfare.
Where there are allegations involving mental health issues, substance abuse, parenting capacity, or the children's wishes, it is often essential to have a psychologist, psychiatrist, clinical counsellor or social worker provide an assessment of the needs of the child, the views of the child, or the ability of each of the child's caregivers to meet the child's needs. These assessments are available under section 211 of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' and can be critical to give the court the critical information it needs about the best interests of the child before it changes an order, award or agreement about parenting time or contact.
===Increasing time with a child===