Co-parenting with an ex-spouse in Maryland can be hard. Regardless, it’s important to your child’s development that you be able to cooperate with your ex.
There are ways to make co-parenting easier. It requires patience and practice, though, with both parents working together towards peaceful co-parenting.
What not to do
It’s easy to get caught up in how your ex hurt you in your marriage or during the divorce process. Your feelings are valid, but they have nothing to do with your ex’s ability to be a good parent.
It’s important not to let your feelings about your ex get in the way of their parenting, and vice versa. Establish rules for communication with your ex early on so you can have productive and meaningful conversations about how to parent.
Avoid assuming the worst
You might be over-critical over how your ex-spouse chooses to parent or believe that they don’t have your children’s best interests at heart. It’s important to give them the benefit of the doubt.
You’ll also want to loosen up. Your ex has the right to parent the children how they want. Having a different way of doing things doesn’t make them a bad parent.
Reach an understanding on the non-negotiables
You and your ex should parent how you want when you have the children. When it comes to their overall growth and well-being, there should be things that you agree on. It’s important that you and your ex talk through how to handle things like:
- Punishments
- Education
- Religion
You’ll want to establish ground rules regarding future scenarios, like introducing new partners to the children. You also want to be on the same page about your children’s medical care and overall development.
It can take time to develop peaceful co-parenting. As you and your ex develop healthy communication behaviors, you’ll find that it does get easier.
