After you and your spouse decide to end your marriage, you may have concerns about what your life will look like moving forward. You may also worry about how your children will do living in two separate households.
In 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 630,505 couples either got divorced or annulled their marriage, and many of these couples chose to co-parent with their ex. If you and your former spouse have plans to co-parent, the following tips can help you form an effective co-parenting relationship.
1. Find an effective way to communicate
You and your former spouse should find a way to effectively communicate about your children. For example, you may want to send regular text messages, set up regular, in-person meetings or schedule phone call meetings.
2. Maintain the same schedule at both houses
If you and your ex share custody of your children, try to set up a similar set of rules for both households. Maintain similar routines and frameworks for discipline, bedtime, chores, screen time, etc. to provide your children with a sense of consistency.
3. Refrain from speaking negatively about your ex
There may be times where your ex frustrates you in relation to your co-parenting agreement. When this occurs, do not voice your frustrations about your ex in front of your children and vent to a therapist, friend or family member instead.
It can take time to get used to co-parenting with your former spouse. Commit to doing what is best for your children and try and be patient with your ex as you both navigate this new form of parenting.
