Raising kids in two homes requires effective communication to be successful. You and your co-parent may still have strong emotions from the divorce, but this should not affect your parenting.
While it may take time to achieve smooth co-parenting, especially in the beginning, you can make your experience more manageable by improving your communication.
Below are four tips to consider:
Share important details
The other parent may feel frustrated if they are not informed about crucial issues or if they keep learning about them from the kids. This can negatively impact your experience, as they may also withhold details about things that happen when they are with the kids.
Thus, you should share essential information. These include children’s schedules, medical issues, milestones and so on. Consider having a shared calendar or a digital platform where you update child-related matters.
Choose the right time to communicate
You and your co-parent should communicate when you are calm and focused. And if you get upset during a conversation, politely excuse yourself. You should continue the discussion when you are relaxed.
Doing this ensures every party is fully present during a conversation and saves you from arguments.
Take time to respond
When communicating with your co-parent, you don’t need to respond immediately. You should take time to process matters to offer an informed response. You can agree on a particular window for responding.
Listen to your co-parent
You should not interrupt or dismiss your co-parent when they are talking. You don’t need to agree with everything they say, but listen attentively. Arguing can make your experience more challenging.
Communication is key in co-parenting. You should get legal help to protect your parental rights if your co-parent is not cooperating.
