{"id":6232,"date":"2025-03-29T15:31:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-29T15:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-surrey\/?page_id=6232"},"modified":"2026-02-24T10:27:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T10:27:20","slug":"navigating-mothers-day-after-divorce-or-separation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-surrey\/navigating-mothers-day-after-divorce-or-separation\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating Mother’s Day After Divorce or Separation"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhile Mother\u2019s Day is enjoyed by many families for honouring and acknowledging all that our mothers do for us, it can be a difficult time for parents who are divorced or going through the process of separation. Whether it is your first time navigating it of if you have been through it before, it can bring up a bittersweet feeling if you are spending it without your children or if you are struggling to figure out plans with your ex.\r\n\r\nIf the day doesn\u2019t fall during your usual time with the kids, working out an arrangement can be tricky, especially if things aren\u2019t particularly amicable. In an ideal world, flexibility and understanding would make it easier, but that doesn\u2019t always feel possible.\r\n\r\nIf you\u2019re feeling a little anxious about Mother\u2019s Day this year, you\u2019re not alone. It may not look exactly how you imagined, but that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t make it meaningful. Here are some ways to take control of the day, manage your emotions, and celebrate in a way that works for you.\r\n\r\nAs a mother, one of the key challenges of Mother\u2019s Day is how you agree who the children will spend the day with if the date falls outside of your usual time with them.\r\n\r\nIf it\u2019s not your weekend to be with the children, whether you spend time with them this Mother\u2019s Day depends very much on how amicable you and your ex-partner are.\r\n\r\nHopefully, in most cases, mutual flexibility and respect will be in place and you can easily agree that the kids can spend time with their Mum. However, this is not always possible, and this can be difficult to deal with.\r\n\r\nHandling the emotions of a Mother\u2019s Day without your children is going to be difficult. Of course, you would prefer to be with your children, but if you cannot then there some things you can put in place to help you deal with it as best you can.\r\n\r\nPlan ahead for Mother\u2019s Day<\/strong>\r\n\r\nIf Mother\u2019s Day falls on a date when you wouldn\u2019t usually be with your children, then some pre-planning can help. Talk to your ex-partner in advance to see if you can swap weekends\/days so you can spend the day with your children, and ensure that you reciprocate this for Father\u2019s Day.\r\n\r\nPerhaps you could agree how you will deal with days that are important to you and your ex-partner in your parenting plan and ensure that the same rules apply to each of you.\r\n\r\nMother\u2019s Day your way<\/strong>\r\n\r\nDoes Mother\u2019s Day really have to be on a specific date? Not at all! Take charge and plan your own special Mother\u2019s Day when you have the kids. Involve them in choosing something fun to do together. This can make the day more meaningful and ease any discomfort they may feel.\r\n\r\nTreat yourself <\/strong>\r\n\r\nIf your children are pre-school age, a card and gift may not be likely. Older children may make a homemade card at school and perhaps friends or family will step in so that you\u2019re treated to a surprise gift. However, why not buy your own gift? At least you can get something that you truly like!\r\n\r\nDo something different with your Mother\u2019s Day after divorce<\/strong>\r\n\r\nUse this as an excuse to take the opportunity to do something different with your time. For example, you could gather your friends who aren\u2019t mothers, or for whom Mother\u2019s Day is difficult, and arrange a meal or day out. Or you could spend time with your own Mum and enjoy some dedicated time together. Or go to that place you\u2019ve wanted to go to for a while but haven\u2019t found the time yet. Visiting a new place can do wonders to lift your mood.\r\n\r\nStay off social media<\/strong>\r\n\r\nTake a digital detox for the day and avoid social media. Seeing pictures of others enjoying time with their children may make you feel worse and knock you off course with your alternative Mother\u2019s Day. And remember, people share the highlights of their lives on social media. It\u2019s a cherry-picked snapshot rather the reality of the whole day.\r\n\r\nRemember, Mother\u2019s Day is just one day<\/strong>\r\n\r\nFinally, Mother\u2019s Day is just one day and you are not alone. It can be tough for all kinds of reasons. Shift the focus away from the day itself and put your energy into prioritising yourself and making it your own.\r\n\r\n\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n\r\nKate Nestor is a divorce coach at <\/strong>Stowe Family Law<\/strong><\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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While Mother\u2019s Day is enjoyed by many families for honouring and acknowledging all that our mothers do for us, it can be a difficult time for parents who are divorced or going through the process of separation. Whether it is your first time navigating it of if you have been through it before, it can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":6233,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"event_categories":[],"class_list":["post-6232","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 18:34:03","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"event_categories","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-surrey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-surrey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-surrey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-surrey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-surrey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6232"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-surrey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6905,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-surrey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6232\/revisions\/6905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-surrey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-surrey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"event_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-surrey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event_categories?post=6232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}