Co-parenting is hard work, and its success can have a tremendous impact on your child. After all, fights between parents in these situations can cause emotional distress and mental harm to a child, and an improper or non-existing co-parenting plan can cause stress and leave your relationship with your child strained. We hope that these tips will help you build a better co-parenting relationship with your child’s other parent so that life can be easier for everyone involved:
- Focus on your child: It can be easy to get caught up in the emotions of your relationship with your child’s other parent, but make sure that all communications are redirected to focus on what’s best for your child.
- Keep your child out of it: Co-parenting situations are tough for kids, too. So, try your best to minimize the impact on them by refraining from venting to them or using them as messengers.
- Use the right tone: To prevent conversations from derailing, try to set a tone that is business-like. You want to be assertive without coming across as confrontational. Try to do this even when the other parent is being aggressive or condescending. We know that’ll be hard to do.
- Build consistency: Children thrive on routine and consistency. Therefore, it’s a good idea to talk to your child’s other parent to find ways to keep house rules, discipline, and other expectations similar between the two households. Keep in mind that these rules don’t have to be identical.
We know that co-parenting can be hard. But you may find that your co-parenting relationship goes a lot further when you’re able to remain respectful and kid focused. We know that this doesn’t mean that the other side will follow suit, but by setting an example, you might find more common ground than you anticipate. In the meantime, good luck in building your co-parenting relationship, and continue to read up on this issue if you’d like to learn more about common child custody and visitation issues.