Nobody ever said co-parenting was easy, especially if you live in different states. So when you are handling a situation like this, it is crucial to keep these four things in mind to make the experience run as smoothly as possible:
Make Travel Arrangements
To make things easier, you and your co-parent should have travel arrangements made well in advance for your children. Fumbling and scrambling with your children when it is time to switch from parent to parent can cause unnecessary stress in their lives. Avoid this by making solid decisions regarding travel expenses, dates, and locations.
Practice Good Communication with Your Kids
Although your kids are no longer with you all the time, you should keep in contact with them while they are with their other parents. You can arrange specific times for calls or video chats or text them to check in every once in a while.
Practice Good Communication with Your Co-Parent
Co-parenting only works if you are willing to put in the effort to make it work. Therefore, maintaining open and mature communication with your co-parent is vital to your child’s success. Many great tools help with this, such as TalkingParents and Our Family Wizard.
Utilize Technology
We are lucky enough to live when we can talk to anyone at any time and manage co-parenting duties easily. In fact, there are even various platforms you can use to do so! Just because you are separated from your children by state lines does not mean your communication with them needs to suffer. Take advantage of your time and utilize the technology you are provided.
With hard work, good communication skills, and the use of technology, co-parenting can work no matter where your family is located. Many people have co-parenting horror stories; do not let them scare you. Follow these four tips, and you can defy co-parenting stereotypes.
