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21| O akville B eaver | T hursday,A ugust 23,2018 insidehalton.com It's Not Win or Lose, It's How you Play the Game Around August every year we pull out the fall calendars and the cheque books and the sports bags and dance bags hoping some of that equipment will still fit. Time to register the kids for their fall activities. Managing the kids' activity schedules and the associated costs is enough of a challenge in an intact family. When parents separate, the kids' extracurricular activities can become a divisive issue. Here are a few things to consider when creating a parenting plan to avoid possible conflict over activities when registration time comes around every year: 1. Set a budget. Put it in writing. Stick to it. This is obviously helpful even where parents are not separated. When coaches and instructors tell us our children have "what it takes" it's hard not to give in to pressure to pay for the next level of training, etc. Consider all of the costs - not just the initial registration fees but tournaments (and associated costs such as travel, meals and hotels), equipment, costumes, private coaching, dance exams, makeup, photographs, videos - and how you will fund these throughout the year. 2. Set out your mutual goals. Separated parents won't agree on everything. When it comes to the kids you probably have some common goals surrounding their best interests including health and well-being and academic standards. If you put these in your parenting plan all future discussions about whether to increase or reduce the extra-curricular activities can refer back to these goals to help with the decision-making process. 3. Set limits. Whether it's the number of hours in a week, or days, or tournaments or the number of activities in which a child will participate set this out in a parenting plan to avoid future disagreements. 4. Set out responsibilities. Who will do the driving? Who will be responsible to care for siblings when one child is participating in an activity? Are parents required to volunteer? Will all parents have the opportunity to attend practices, games, recitals, etc. regardless of the schedule? 5. Include a detailed "Dispute Resolution" provision. Think about… What will you do if there is a disagreement in the future? How will you come to a child-focused resolution? Will you work with a mediator (and, if so, how will you choose the mediator and how will you share the cost?) If you really can't agree will you outsource the decision- making to a third party such as a parenting coordinator or an arbitrator? For help creating the best parenting plans for your family please do not hesitate to contact us at Berry Gage LLP Family Law, Mediation, Wills & Estates. www.bgfamilylaw.ca Advertorial BURSARY WINNERS The Optimist Club of Oakville presented its 2018 Don MacDonald Bursary Awards to 10 graduating students from Oakville public and separate high schools earlier this. Each bursary is worth $2,000 to assist the students with their post-secondary studies. The bursary is awarded to students with extensive volunteer involvement within their school and/or community. The winners are (back row from left) Emily Williams, Luke Raczywolski, Madelyn Taylor, Maria Salman and Jiashen Huang; (front row) Catherine Maul, Syeda Taliya Rizvi, bursary chair Patricia Mason, Madelaine Balchand and Chantal Cote. Missing is Eunice Tunggal. OCO photo COMMUNITY