Once you make the decision to incorporate monitoring into your child custody arrangement, you’ll then have to decide how frequently monitoring should occur. Typically you’ll have two options: monitoring during parenting time or daily monitoring.
General Rule of Thumb
The need for continuous alcohol monitoring is directly related to the parent’s ability (or inability) to moderate or quit drinking. Usually by the time custody arrangements must include monitoring, there has already been at least one alcohol-related incident.
A good rule of thumb is if the parent is an alcohol abuser, monitoring only during parenting time is acceptable. But if the parent is alcohol dependent and the children are of vulnerable age, daily monitoring is the best choice.
When choosing to monitor only during parenting time, it should be understood that the parent has control of their drinking to the degree that they are able to abstain while watching the children. In this circumstance, the concerned parent isn’t interested in asking for total abstinence – drinking problem or not – but only abstinence during parenting time.
Often times, parenting time coincides with social outings like children’s parties or play dates. Monitoring decreases the chances that children will be exposed to excessive drinking in these situations. Additionally, monitoring lowers the risk of parents driving under the influence while watching the children.
Monitoring during parenting time helps establish a structure of accountability and good habits for parenting time while building trust and improving co-parenting relationships. Unlike other methods, alcohol monitoring with Soberlink can give immediate BAC results or simply keep a reliable record of abstinence, or lack thereof.
If your custody arrangement involves alcohol dependence, or an otherwise very serious alcohol situation, monitoring only during parenting time may be insufficient and you should consider daily monitoring.
About the Author
Soberlink supports accountability for sobriety through a comprehensive alcohol monitoring system. Combining a breathalyzer with wireless connectivity, the portable design and technology includes facial recognition, tamper detection and real-time reporting. Soberlink proves sobriety with reliability to foster trust and peace of mind.