Improving Your Co-Parent Relationship 

Parenting is an immense joy and an immense responsibility, and co-parenting takes things up several notches. Whether you and your children’s other parent are on excellent terms or not so much, there are steps you can take to help you improve your co-parenting relationship. If you have questions or concerns about your parenting arrangements – parental responsibilities including both decision-making and parenting time – look to an experienced Illinois parenting attorney for the legal guidance you need.

Share Your Schedules

Running two households is hectic, and all that activity must be overlaid with your parenting time schedule. In order to keep things working as smoothly as possible, it’s important to share your primary schedules with one another, which allows you to plan ahead and address any potential conflicts head on. A great way to coordinate your schedules and ensure that you and your children’s other parent have the information you need to make informed decisions is employing a scheduling app, such as Our Family Wizard.

Make Open Communication Your Goal

The thing about parenting is that you have to expect the unexpected, and the only way to handle whatever comes your way is to keep the lines of communication between you and your ex open. Stuck in traffic on the way to pick up the kids – for example – you’re going to need to let their other parent know. If phone calls between you have a tendency to be unproductive – or worse – texting or another form of electronic messaging may be more effective, but having a reliable means of communication with one another that you both take seriously is imperative.

Focus on Your Kids

You may still be experiencing the unsettling effects of your divorce, but it’s important to recognize that your children are likely to be taking things even harder. Things you can do to help support your children and make this transition as smooth as possible include:

• Demonstrating that you and your ex remain mutually committed to and focused on their happiness and well-being
• Treating your ex with respect and refraining from bad-mouthing them
• Remembering that your children love both of you and not asking them to pick sides in either words or deeds
• Letting your children know when they will be with you and when they’ll be with their other parent – helping to ensure their new normal doesn’t feel random
• Letting your children know that you and their other parent are always just a phone call or text away
• Talking to your children openly about their feelings and helping them to process through them
• Remaining consistent with your children but recognizing that some acting out can be normal in the face of divorce

Turn to an Experienced Illinois Parenting Attorney for the Help You’re Looking For

Successful co-parenting is a real challenge – in addition to being a worthy pursuit – and the compassionate child custody attorneys at WARD FAMILY LAW focus their practice on helping clients like you obtain beneficial divorce terms that support their co-parenting efforts. To learn more about how we can also help you, don’t delay contacting us today.