Co-parenting is very popular in the modern court room. It used to be that children of divorce most commonly ended up in the sole custody of the mother, but that is no longer the case. Co-parenting, when done right, has been shown to give a myriad of benefits for the child, chiefly among them proof that the parents love the child more than they feel toward whatever the reason for the divorce was. However, this does not mean that co-parenting is not a challenge, and effective communication is key. According to Helpguide.org, it is imperative to set a businesslike tone between yourself and your ex-spouse for effective co-parenting to occur.
Of course, there are some divorces where both exes end up on good terms and there is no risk of bad communication to start with, but it is more common to have some level of acrimony between ex-spouses after a divorce. This can make co-parenting difficult. However, for co-parenting to be effective, it is necessary that you set your disagreements aside and focus on what is important: the welfare of the kids.
You may find that communicating with your ex through a written medium is the most effective. If you really need to strive for the “business” feel, then using email and setting parameters on how often you and your ex will contact each other can help. Otherwise, messaging systems also work well. The idea is to get everything down in writing so that there is proof about what was said when.
Make sure that any discussions remain about the children and nothing else. Keeping the conversation on topic will help ensure that it stays genial.
