Co-parenting isn’t always easy. Even if you and your ex are on good terms and want to be excellent parents to your children, you still have to work together. This can be stressful and complicated. It is naturally made much worse if you have an ex who refuses to cooperate or doesn’t put the children first.
But what can you do to make this less stressful? There’s no way to get around co-parenting if that’s what the court order says. Here are some tactics you can use to make things go smoothly.
Be open to compromise
A lot of co-parenting stress simply happens because neither person wants to compromise. It may not be what you’d prefer, but understanding that there needs to be some give-and-take can make things easier.
Have a support system
Venting to your ex just turns everything into an argument, which makes it worse. But having someone to talk to is still very helpful. Make sure that you have a support system of people you can turn to when things get difficult.
Utilize technology
Some of the stress of co-parenting comes when there is miscommunication about scheduling. It may be wise to create a shared calendar online that both of you can access so that you always know what’s happening and what’s required of you.
Communicate as effectively as possible
Few things are as important as communication. If it is too stressful to always do this in person, you and your ex may want to use email messages, letters, text messages or even social media communications.
Put the children first
At the end of the day, nothing is as important as putting the children first. When you’re working toward their best interests instead of your own, it makes the whole process easier to deal with – even when your ex is making it stressful.
Throughout this entire experience, just make sure that you also know about your legal rights as a parent and what options you have.
