A divorce can have a serious impact on a child’s life. That is why you should keep in mind the “dos” and “don’ts” of co-parenting. Continue reading and reach out to our skilled Monmouth County child custody attorney today.
What are the dos?
Keep in mind the below tactics to create a successful co-parenting relationship. You can do this by setting boundaries, like:
- Sit down with your former spouse to create an affirmative plan that sets aside discrepancies you may have. The focus should be on satisfying the needs of the children you are co-parenting.
- Reconcile how you will handle visitation, holidays, and events.
- Develop behavioral approaches for raising your children that you will each abide by. It is important to recognize that you will want your children to have consistency in their lives, no matter which parent they’re with. This includes bedtimes, phone privileges, etc. Keep in mind that a child will usually test a situation and manipulate boundaries. Be ready to stay strong.
- Negotiate the roles of extended family members.
- Establish lines of open communication concerning all elements of your child’s development. This includes being able to compare notes on a situation before determining a punishment.
- While it can be emotionally challenging, you and your co-parent need to choose to keep each other notified about changes in your life circumstances. The child should never be your direct source of information.
- Commit to carrying yourself with emotional integrity.
What are the don’ts?
You will also want to recognize the actions to avoid when co-parenting. They include the following:
- Use your child as a means to get back at or harm your former spouse.
- Permit your child to speak poorly about the other parent.
- Damage your child’s relationship with the other parent.
- Use your child to acquire information or to manipulate and/or control your former spouse.
- Transfer hurt feelings and/or frustrations toward your former spouse onto your child.
- Force your child to pick a side when there is a conflict with scheduling.
- Turn the pressure on your child.
- Depend too much on your child for friendship or support because you are going through a divorce.
- Become so emotionally dependent that your child starts to feel guilty if they spend time with others. You would not want to find out they turned down social outings because they were scared you would be incapable of having alone time.
Contact our experienced Red Bank firm
Our firm proudly represents clients in New Jersey who are faced with matters of family law, criminal defense, business law, real estate law, or estate planning. If you require strong and dedicated representation for any of your legal matters, please do not hesitate to contact The Law Offices of George J. Mardinly to schedule a consultation.