It is quite simple to notice that divorcing is not the easiest process. However, as soon as the kids are involved, you will see that there are even more things to think about. Those are rarely easy to deal with. One of the best choices is co-parenting. Sure, if your family had some situations with things like domestic violence, this might not be the case. However, in most cases, the co-parenting idea should work one way or another. Yet, even with such a nice thing to have, you may experience some major problems. And there are tons of things that may cause such problems. As an example, your ex might not be satisfied with the amount of time that they or you are spending with the kid. Therefore, splitting the time for about halves would work alright in many cases. To make it easier for yourself, make sure that you use one of the divorce document preparation services in Washington state to help yourself with free time. While those guys take care of all the documents, you can start working on the meeting schedule for you and your child. If you are still not familiar with the ideas of co-parenting, here are some basic explanations. First, the most popular option of co-parenting is a situation where one of the spouses lives with the kid permanently. Then, during the weekends (or just at the determined times) another parent comes to pick the kid up and spend time with them. Another option is where the parents still live together, although they are divorced. This situation is much rarer. However, it is usually the best for the child. If you want to find out more on how to make everything easier, make sure to read the following tips, as this article is here to help you out with that.
1. Try to set aside bad emotions
One of the worst things that you can do when co-parenting is being ‘a bad parent’. That is a situation where the kid do not want to talk to a parent. That might be due to various reasons, but sometimes that is just because the parent is not in a good mood. Remember, you are doing this ‘co-parenting’ thing because you want your child to be happy. Therefore, make sure that you are giving them only a positive attitude. This way they will feel like they are loved by both of their parents, which will make them feel better overall. Even if you are pissed off by the child, because they did something, make sure that you set aside the emotions and behave them in a calm and easy to understand manner. This way the kid might even be surprised, as they expected another kind of reaction. Dealing with things like these with calm is a perfect way to make the child love you even more, as they will feel like they can always talk to you even if they messed up, which is an awesome thing to have in such a relationship.
2. Do not make your child a mediator
The worst thing that you can do to your child is putting them in the middle between you and your ex. Telling something bad about your ex-spouse to your child is the first sign that the co-parenting is going to be a terrible experience both for you and for the child. Every time you want to tell something bad to your child, make sure to think that you are here for their happiness, not for yours. Sure, you might be right. However, it is up to the child to decide whether they are willing to stay with you or with your ex. Also, do not send messages to your ex through your child. Sure, they would be able to deliver it just fine. However, if you are putting your kid in the middle, they would know it faster than you understand it.
3. Try to team up with your ex
This idea is the hardest one to do for you and your spouse, yet the best choice for the happiness of the child. So, the idea is to set a certain style of communication between you and your ex. This might be a casual talk. However, for most people that is too hard to achieve due to all of the details that they went through during the divorce. Another option is to try to make everything more official. As an example, you can communicate with your ex via emails. This way you will only talk about the things that are needed for the child. And the best thing about this kind of approach is that the child will feel that they are not in the middle of a war. Instead, they will know that their parents are working together for them, although they do not like each other.