CO-PARENTING WITH COMMON GOALS BOOSTS EFFECTIVENESS
Co-parenting is a valuable experience for the children, but it does take work by the parents. Many elements have to come together if the situation will work, so you must be prepared to put forth the effort. As you do this, you must remember the goals you set for the situation.
Your parenting goals with your co-parent should be similar to your ex’s. This ensures everyone is on the same page about what needs to happen. You can include your child in setting some of the goals to help keep them motivated.
Your child’s needs must remain the priority in all cases. You can’t think about how situations might impact you or your ex because the only thing that matters is what your child needs. When you and your ex can determine what the children need, you might find that everything goes a bit smoother.
When you have a goal in mind, you can set the stage for presenting a united parenting front. Your children will know that they can’t try to play one parent against the other.
You also need to have suitable communication. This benefits you and your ex because it ensures you both know what’s going on. It also benefits your children because they can see effective adult communication in action. They know that remaining respectful helps to keep conversations from becoming too stressful.
The basis of the co-parenting relationship is always the custody agreement. Try to ensure that it outlines the critical information that will help you when decisions come up. You have to consider your child’s current needs when you set this because you can always revise the order later if necessary.
