If you share children with someone you are divorcing, it’s important to do what you can to make future parenting easier. You will forever be co-parents to your children and they are relying on you to raise them.
Here are three things that can help you to co-parent successfully:
Compromise
You cannot have everything your way when negotiating custody and parenting schedules. Understanding that will make the negotiation process so much simpler. If you both enter negotiations willing to cede a bit of ground, you are more likely to end up with a balance that both of you can live with. When arrangements are heavily skewed in one direction it can lead to discontentment on the part of the party who feels they have lost out, making your future relationship more challenging.
Cooperation
Co-parenting will be smoother when you work with each other, rather than against each other. Raising children is challenging, so sharing the load is important. Examples of cooperation include collecting the kids from a party because the other parent has to be up for work early in the morning. Paying for your child’s new sports kit because your ex does not have the money right now and you do. Or taking an hour out of your work schedule to help your child with their math homework because you are much better at math than your co-parent.
Communication
To compromise, cooperate and do everything else related to co-parenting, you need to communicate. The better you communicate the more pleasant life will be for you and the children you share.
Taking legal guidance and considering mediation to settle custody matters can start you on the road to achieving all three C’s.
