Keeping up healthy co-parenting habits can be difficult, and it can be especially hard when you just don’t get along with your ex-spouse or co-parent. Ultimately, the focus should be on the child, which is why developing and practicing positive co-parenting habits is so important. Let’s face it. Every relationship is different and every family has different relationships. The goal of co-parenting is to build a relationship with your child and your co-parent that gives your child the care and support he or she needs to flourish. Here are a handful of helpful tips and tricks to make co-parenting just a little bit easier for everyone involved.
Be Clear About What You Expect: This applies when talking to your co-parent as well as your child. To be successful in any partnership, expectations must be thoroughly and clearly communicated. But it’s also important to share your expectations for your children as well, to ensure they continue to grow and develop the way they should.
Keep Negativity Away From Your Children: Always try to stay positive and pleasant around your kids. Whatever negativity you have towards your co-parent should be redirected to somewhere your kids can’t hear or see it. Ultimately, the goal is to build a loving, happy relationship with your child, and that is hard to do when the child is caught in the middle.
Put in a Full Effort, Before and After a Separation: If you and your co-parent aren’t fully separated, know that it is usually less stressful finding a solution with your partner than it is separating and trying to keep a familial net under your child. But not every relationship works, so it’s important to put in that extra effort if a separation does happen to ensure your child gets the care he or she needs.
