Navigating Back-to-School and Co-Parenting Struggles

by | Oct 12, 2015 | Uncategorized | 1 comment

557920441-close-up-of-boy-kicking-soccer-ball-gettyimagesIt’s that time of year again – like it or not, the kids are back in school! This means busier schedules and more activities, but hopefully getting back into a routine is helpful for everyone in your family. Those open houses, parent-teacher conferences, sports, recitals, and other activities probably mean seeing your ex-spouse a whole lot more than you may have needed to during the summer. At the very least, it may be daunting to think about having to sit through these activities amicably, verses seeing your ex quickly during dropping off or picking up the kids.  How do you manage co-parenting for these activities? Some families choose to divvy-up which parent goes to which activities based solely on who has custody of the children during that given time, while other parents don’t want to miss a thing. This is a parenting challenge where those parenting plans play such an important role in your divorce. If you already agreed on how you will handle this it may be black and white for you and your family. However some grey area is to be expected; father-daughter dance falls on mom’s weekend? – do you want to be the parent that takes that away from your child because of a technicality? Probably not. There may be times that you think it will be impossible to be in the same room as your ex-spouse. You certainly don’t need to sit next to your ex on the bleachers during your son’s football game, but for the sake of the children you should sit down with your ex and determine what works best for attending activities. Whether you divide the games evenly and both attend the big games/recitals/conferences or you choose to formulate another game plan, it’s important to do this ahead of time to avoid arguments and misunderstandings later. It’s not always easy, but co-parenting amicably can give your children stability and close relationships with both parents. Some day you and your blended families may have that moment together on the bleachers, but you don’t need to push it before everyone is ready.

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