Making the leap into co-parenting can be quite hard. Once you get past the essentials, it’s helpful for you and your ex to start setting some co-parenting goals. By doing so, you can make sure your efforts result in a success for everyone involved…
Co-Parenting Goals: What To Aim For
Make the kids feel secure
Divorce tends to make kids feel pretty uncertain about the future. Just like you have a lot of questions about what’s next, so do they. They might not be sure where they’re going to live, or who they’ll live with. They might even wonder if the divorce is somehow related to something they did.
That’s why one of your co-parenting goals should be to help them feel more secure. Having a good, consistent schedule can help them adjust to the new “normal.” It’s also good to spend plenty of time with them, further reinforcing that you or your ex aren’t going to leave them.
Work on a budget
Divorce also means making changes to your budget. However, as a co-parent, you have to plan not just for your household, but also with your ex for the kids. Usually, this is for those major expenses, like tuition, or medical bills. Therefore, a good budget is another of the co-parenting goals to work towards.
Try to meet with your ex and go over both of your individual budgets. Then, look at the major upcoming costs you have for the kids. By doing so, you can see if the budgets are good, or if they need some adjustment. You can also work on ways to save money together.
Better communication
Not all couples want to constantly talk after splitting. Still, co-parenting require some kind of communication between you and your ex. After all, you’ll have to coordinate things like dropping off or picking up the kids. This is why improving this communication is one of the most common co-parenting goals.
One good way to do this is by trying to keep your talks positive. Focus on the good things, like how the kids are doing in school, instead of potentially negative topics. It can also be a good idea to give a heads up ahead of time about potential schedule adjustments.