The divorce process likely brought on changes that affected nearly every area of your life, from your finances to where you live. One of these major changes may have involved sharing parenting time with your former spouse.
In 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 630,505 couples in the U.S. decided to divorce or annul their marriages. If you recently got divorced, the following strategies may help you form an effective co-parenting relationship with your ex.
Set regular meetings
It is important that you and your spouse remain on the same page regarding your children’s schedules, activities, challenges, schooling and other parenting issues. Find a way to communicate with your ex on a regular basis to talk about your children.
Keep similar routines at both houses
You and your spouse should set similar routines that are the same at both households. Some of these may include routines for bedtimes, discipline, doing homework, having friends over and other normal parts of the day.
Communicate respectfully
It can be difficult to not let leftover feelings of frustration, anger and resentment from your divorce affect your coparenting relationship. However, you should view this relationship as a business partnership and try to keep your tone calm and collected when speaking to and working with your ex.
Learning how to co-parent with your former spouse is a new situation that may take some time for you and your children to get used to. Give yourself patience and try to be patient with your ex as you both attempt to figure out this new style of parenting.
