Thousands of marriages across Indiana and the United States end in divorce every year. Plenty of these marriages have children involved, and in the aftermath of the divorce, co-parenting is necessary.
In a perfect world, all divorced couples would be able to co-parent successfully, but many encounter challenges along the way.
Children’s needs should be the top priority
If you are trying to co-parent with an ex-spouse, it is important to keep the kids front-and-center and use that to drive your decision-making.
In addition, according to Oprah Magazine, one of the most important things you can do to co-parent successfully is to heal yourself. Granted, this is a multi-faceted challenge. If you have a contentious relationship with your ex-spouse, healing could be very difficult.
Try to view the relationship as having been completed and in the past; don’t view it as failure. This will help you regard it in a more positive light and help you move forward. Remembering the love you had for your ex-spouse may also help you re-frame this new chapter in your life.
A business-like approach
If it’s not possible to think of the marriage in that way, an alternative is to bring a business-like approach to co-parenting. All of us have either had a boss or a client that we did not particularly get along with, but we’re able to make it work for a certain amount of time due to professionalism.
Ultimately, thinking about the relationship with your ex-spouse in professional terms will benefit your children.
