When the Rules Feel One-Sided

The kids headed out for a five-day trip with their other parent.
What I was told: the departure and return dates, and that the destination is somewhere in South Dakota.
What I still don’t have: an address, a backup adult’s phone number, or the nearest urgent-care location.

I asked for those details. I’ve had to ask in the past, too. Sometimes I get them, sometimes I don’t. When it’s my turn to travel, I share everything up front—partly because I think it’s healthy co-parenting, partly because I’m wary of being accused of withholding. The contrast is hard to ignore.

I’m not claiming anyone is breaking a law or a court order. I’m simply noticing the pattern: one parent’s silence is treated as an innocent oversight; the other parent’s thoroughness is treated like proof he has something to hide. That double standard puts extra weight on the parent who already feels under the microscope.

So I keep documenting. Not to build a case, but to keep a record for the kids—evidence that I tried to be transparent, even when transparency wasn’t reciprocated. If you’re in a similar spot, remember: you can’t control how someone else communicates, but you can control how consistently you show up.