Find ways to communicate with your co-parent

One of the things that you will have to learn to do when you are dealing with a co-parent is communicate effectively. Without civil communication, there is a good chance that the co-parenting relationship isn’t going to work how you thought it would.

Your listening skills have to be ready when you deal with your co-parent. Whether communication happens in person, over the phone or through other means, you have to make sure that you are taking the time to understand what your ex is saying. This might not be easy, but make sure that you aren’t adding in or taking away anything.

You can’t just assume that you know what is going on. Let go of assumptions that might cloud your ability to communicate. No matter how bad your relationship was with your ex, you have to think about what your children need now. Hopefully, your ex has the same goal so that nothing else will creep up to make things even more difficult.

Never assume that your ex knows what is going on about anything. Discuss the important matters together and make sure that you are sharing the small details. This might help you to avoid situations where there are misunderstandings.

There are bound to be some difficult conversations that will have to occur between you and the other parent. These are best handled when your children aren’t around to hear them. Ideally, you will be able to have in-person discussions or at least phone conversations about the matters. Never try to put your child in the middle of these conversations since that might make them uncomfortable.

Source: Our Family Wizard, “5 Tips on How to Be a Civil Communicator in Co-Parenting,” accessed Oct. 27, 2017