10 Tips To Nail Co-Parenting
10 Tips To Nail Co-Parenting. Break ups are not easy, but when children are involved it can be such a drag. Both of you need to co-parent without involving the kids in your drama. This will require cooperation and flexibility from all parties involved. The following tips can help you succeed at this arrangement.
1. Put The Child First
Co-parenting is putting the needs and well-being of your children before everything. It’s working honestly and openly with the other parent to meet those needs and raise happy and healthy children. This means giving your children the stability they deserve while realizing that life isn’t perfect.
2. Learn To Work With Your Ex
Take your ex as a friend than an enemy. Meet in person when making big decisions, if possible, and keep a picture of your children right in front of you to stay focused on your shared higher purpose.
3. Communicate
It is important to cooperate with each other for the benefit of the children. Children adjust more easily to crisis and loss if their parents work together to develop healthy ways of communicating, resolving problems, and reducing conflict.
4. Resolve Conflict Quickly
Parents can help their children by cooperating with each other and by quickly resolving their conflict. Parents may resolve conflict in a variety of ways, including consulting family members, religious leaders, mediators, parenting time expeditors, county child support officers, attorneys, or others.
5. Respect Each Other’s Time With The Child
Parents can help their children by respecting and supporting each child’s relationship with the other parent. Unless agreed upon by both parents, parents should not plan activities for children that conflict with the other parent’s scheduled time with the children. The time a parent is scheduled to spend with the children belongs to that parent and the children.
6. Be Involved In Child Support
Parents can help their children by not withholding child support or parenting time. Children generally fare best when they have the emotional and financial support and ongoing involvement of both parents. A parent does not have a right to withhold parenting time or child support because of the other parent’s failure to comply with court-ordered parenting time or support.
7. Encourage Telephone and Other Contact
Parents can help their children by calling and writing to them and by reasonably encouraging and assisting them to call and write to the other parent. Children do best when they are able to maintain contact with both parents. While parenting time is one way to maintain that contact, other ways include telephone calls, letters, e-mail, and other forms of communication.
8. Have Similar Household Routines
Parents can help their children by following similar routines for mealtime, bedtime, and some work time. Parents can also help their children by accepting that they have limited control over what happens in the other parent’s home and by respecting the authority of the other parent.
9. Accommodate Vacation Plans
It is important for each parent to vacation with their children. Parents can help their children by scheduling their vacation times so that they do not interfere with the other parent’s time with the children or with the children’s schedules. Vacation, whether during school breaks or during the summer, can be a time for parents and children to expand their relationship.
10. Facilitate Temporary Schedule Adjustments
Parents can help their children by giving as much advance notice as possible when requesting a temporary adjustment to the parenting time schedule. Family emergencies, illness of a parent or child, or special events of a parent or child may require temporary adjustment to the parenting time schedule. Parents can help their children by scheduling an alternate parenting time to take place as soon as possible.
