Co-parenting after a divorce can be a challenging process even when the former spouses have the best intentions. The process can get even more complicated when the communication between parents goes beyond topics related to their children. To protect the children and to help the relationship succeed, Florida parents should work towards keeping all communication about matters related to their children and avoid over-sharing information about their personal lives.
Why can too much communication be bad?
After a divorce, it takes time for people to adapt to their new life and role. Everyone’s timeline is different so when one parent has comfortably moved on, it is not automatic that the other parent has done so as well. Listening to the other parent speak about their new life or new relationship might result in new conflicts.
The goals of co-parenting
A combative relationship goes against the goals of co-parenting. These goals include:
- Jointly raising the children in a positive, supportive environment
- Providing the children stability as they grow
- Helping the children through their challenges
- Modeling amicable, cooperative problem-solving skills
Making rules about communication
To avoid unnecessary conflicts, parents can make rules about when, how and about what they can communicate. For example, parents can agree that they will only communicate information that directly affects the children, such as information about exchanges, the children’s schedules and activities and important decisions such as health and education. They can also set up rules about the times when they should communicate. Finally, they can even choose how to communicate to minimize conflict, since communication does not always have to be in-person.
Moving after divorce is hard but necessary. However, if you are co-parenting your children, you will need to find a balance between your private life and your parenting life when it comes to communication.