Sharing custody isn’t easy, even if you have the best of intentions. You and your ex may have had some rough patches this last year, especially if your divorce is still fresh.
With a new year on the horizon, now is the perfect time to set some goals for better co-parenting in the future. What are some resolutions that could make your family life a little bit better?
Commit to daily updates or communication
You would probably prefer to go as long as possible without interacting with your ex. However, you need to share information about your children frequently.
Even if you just text a quick explanation of what happened at school, checking in with one another as frequently as every day can help keep both of you involved and working together for the kids.
Agree to give each other space when things get tense
The worst thing you can do is to get into angry fights over little things. Small disagreements will always happen. You have the opportunity to keep them from blowing up into massive conflicts by giving yourself time to cool off and communicating in writing after a disagreement.
Promise to keep your kids out of your conflicts
Sometimes, despite a parent’s best attempts, they still get into fights in front of the children or make disparaging remarks about their ex to the kids. Although there’s no such thing as completely erasing the mistakes of the past, you can recommit yourself to keeping a positive attitude about the shared custody arrangements you currently have. Recommitting yourself to being the best co-parent possible will make sharing custody with your ex less stressful.
