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Need Advice On Parenting-time Phone Calls / Talkingparents Order In Florida

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Location: Florida

Need advice on parenting-time phone calls / TalkingParents order
Looking for some advice on what we could reasonably ask the judge for at an upcoming contempt hearing.

The judge previously ordered that the parents use a court-appointed parenting app and that Dad have a 7 PM daily phone call with the kids. This was ordered because Mom had previously blocked Dad from communicating with the kids for weeks at a time. Dad consistently called at 7 PM when the kids were with Mom. If they had church or another activity, Mom would usually message that they couldn’t talk that night. If they were with their grandparents for days and he wouldn’t be able to speak to them.

The issue is that when the kids are with Dad, he works in sales and does not have a guaranteed schedule. He may be home before 7, but if he has a customer, he may be working well past 7. Mom has started calling him at exactly 7 PM when she knows he is working. Dad tells her he will have the kids call as soon as he gets home, and he does, but sometimes she sent him nasty messages. In the meantime before he can get the kids to call when he gets home.

There is also a significant harassment issue. Mom and her boyfriend send Dad insulting/nasty messages through the parenting app and sometimes get on the phone and speak disrespectfully to him. Dad does not respond to the harassment. Mom has even stated in writing that she doesn’t actually care about speaking to the kids and is calling at 7 specifically because she knows Dad is working and that it will make him anxious/get him in trouble since he’s not home with the kids to answer. This is documented in the app.

Dad has asked about getting the kids a phone so they can communicate with him directly. The judge has said he doesn’t like giving children phones, even though the kids already have personal phones at Mom’s house—they just aren’t permitted to use them to call/text Dad.
There are pending contempt allegations regarding Mom previously preventing communication, as well as the ongoing harassment/third-party interference.

What would be a reasonable solution to ask the judge for? We obviously want the kids to be able to communicate with both parents, but the strict 7 PM/15-minute window doesn’t work with Dad’s job, and the parenting app is being used for extreme harassment.

submitted by /u/Western-Ad3888
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