If you have a shared custody arrangement, you trust your former spouse to exercise good judgment during his or her parenting time. Among other things, this requires picking a responsible babysitter when your ex is not available to watch the kids. If he or she is not a great judge of character, your former partner may ask someone you do not trust to do the job.
A co-parenting arrangement naturally requires you to give up some control. After all, during his or her parenting time, your ex is mostly free to parent as he or she sees fit. Still, if you think your co-parent is likely to ask an unsavory or irresponsible person to babysit your children, you probably want to take some steps to protect them.
Your ex’s choice of babysitter
According to Psychology Today, babysitters have a tremendous opportunity to influence your children’s development either positively or negatively. Therefore, neither you nor your ex should take choosing a babysitter lightly. If you believe your former spouse is likely to be cavalier or careless, your custody agreement should have a right of first refusal requirement.
Your right of first refusal
A right of first refusal provision in your custody agreement requires your co-parent to ask you to babysit during your non-parenting time before he or she asks anyone else. Then, you have the option either of watching your kids or of allowing your ex to ask a friend, relative, professional babysitter or another person.
Ultimately, by including a right of first refusal clause in your custody agreement, you can keep your kids far away from anyone you do not want them near.