Working Together With Your Co-Parent

The holiday season is full of creating beautiful memories with family. However, if you are a co-parent, you might find yourself experiencing stress. Not only do you have to worry about making your kid’s holiday as positive as possible, but you also have to think about communicating with your ex. While this might pose a lot of stress, there are ways to work around this and maintain a positive relationship with your fellow co-parent.

1. Always Put the Kids First

Regardless of how you feel about your fellow co-parent, you should always put your kids first during the holiday season. Put yourself in their shoes and imagine how they would want to spend their time with their parents. Trying to force them to attend multiple gatherings in one day might only stress the kids, creating an unpleasant experience. Consider asking them how they would like to spend their time to avoid any unnecessary stress.

2. Be Proactive, Plan Ahead

When co-parenting, having a thorough plan is essential. Ideally, you will plan for the holiday season months in advance. Communicate openly with your co-parent, asking them the things that they want out of their holiday season. Furthermore, planning allows you to make any necessary changes as you see fit in advance. However, you can’t always control when divorce happens, meaning that you might not be able to plan well in advance.

3. Try to Remain Flexible

Demonstrating understanding is one of the critical elements of co-parenting. During the holidays, there could be last-minute changes to schedules. One of your kids might want to go to a holiday party, or family members could coordinate a surprise visit. Whatever the reason, you should always try to remain flexible and understanding in schedule changes when co-parenting.

4. Care for Yourself

During this hectic time, don’t forget to take care of yourself. By nurturing yourself, you will provide your children and fellow co-parent with what they need, which is transparent, honest communication.

If you need assistance with co-parenting, contact Law Offices of William L. Geary today at (614) 289-1227 to speak with our divorce attorneys.