Five Tips for Improving Your Co-Parenting Relationship

Regardless of whether you have been sharing child custody for some time or are new to the arrangement, all co-parents can use some pointers on how to improve their relationship. As you may recall, with your divorce case or other proceedings involving children, the Ohio statute on allocating parental rights and responsibilities encourages shared parenting. This arrangement enables the child to have a solid relationship with both unless there are reasons that co-parenting would not be in the child’s best interests.

However, even when parents generally agree on important decisions regarding the child, there can be challenges with sharing parenting. Overcoming them enables you to avoid trips to court while also supporting the needs of your child. Retaining a North Canton child custody attorney is an essential first step, but check out some additional tips on how to improve your co-parenting relationship.

Communication is key

As with other personal and professional relationships, parents need to keep the lines of communication open when it comes to shared parenting. Make sure you are on the same page with the parenting time schedule, and inform your co-parent about adjustments or changes right away. It is also critical to discuss issues involving education, extracurricular activities, medical care, and other important matters before making decisions.

Take advantage of mobile apps for co-parenting

To assist with communication, you should consider downloading one of the many mobile apps that are available for co-parents. There are options for messaging that also track the discussion in case disputes end up in court. They can even “sense” negative or aggressive tones in the text and then give you an alternative way of phrasing things that would be perceived as less harsh by your co-parent. Other apps cover:

• The parenting time schedule;
• Special events and appointments;
• Documents related to school, medical care, and legal matters; and,
• Regular and extraordinary expenses for the child.

Keep kids out of disputes

Co-parents are bound to run into disagreements, but you should never involve your children in these conflicts. Do not levy blame or pit children against their other parent.

Put yourself in your co-parent’s shoes

When a dispute develops, take time to first see the matter from the perspective of your co-parent. You would no doubt be upset about late pick-ups and drop-offs, so avoid this misconduct yourself. Because you know how frustrated you would be to find that an important decision was made without you, do not overstep boundaries. Seeing things from a different point of view can help smooth over disagreements.

Rely on Your Ohio Child Custody Lawyer for Advice

As a final note, co-parents can also improve their relationship when they retain legal counsel to explain the laws and smooth over disputes. With an attorney’s support, you are in a better position to leverage these tips and move forward as united partners. To learn how our team assists with shared parenting, please contact Fout Law Office, LLC in North Canton, OH. We can set up a consultation with an Ohio child attorney who will advise you on options.