Building a healthy co-parenting relationship

Pennsylvania law generally allows both parents to have a relationship with their kids after a divorce. Therefore, your former spouse will remain a part of your life for many years to come if you share children. Making that time as pleasant as possible will benefit everyone.

Respect

Showing respect for your former partner is a sign that you’re in a healthy co-parenting relationship. Refrain from saying negative things about your ex in front of your child. By modeling civil and mature behavior, your child learns how to act appropriately and treat people with grace. It also prevents you from undermining the other parent’s position as a person of authority in your child’s life.

Communication

The ability to communicate openly and honestly is another important sign of a healthy relationship. Effective communication doesn’t necessarily mean that you talk to your ex in person. Instead, it simply means that you have some method of relaying critical information about your child’s health, educational progress or other key issues.

Flexibility

Flexibility is a key component of an effective co-parenting relationship because things are simply going to go wrong from time to time. For instance, if your child is sick, it may be best to keep them in one place. If your car breaks down, you might not be able to complete a custody transfer until the next day. Parents who have good relationships with each other will overlook inadvertent breaches of a child custody agreement if they cannot be avoided.

Maintaining a civil relationship with your child’s other parent is in everyone’s best interest because your child won’t feel mired in conflict, which is very stressful. Furthermore, neither side will feel motivated to make decisions based on emotion.