Things to Discuss When Co-Parenting
Successful co-parenting requires good communication. These tips will benefit your child and help both parents avoid conflict.
- 2 min read
- custody
There is a lot to consider for a co-parenting relationship to be successful. Good communication between parents is the most crucial aspect. Communicating frequently and documenting all joint decisions regarding your child is important. This not only benefits your child’s well-being, but also helps avoid conflict.
These are some of the key topics you and your co-parent should discuss
- Living arrangements. This includes regular parenting time, birthdays, and holiday custody.
- Transportation. Discuss how your kids will move from one home to another or to and from after-school activities, as well as specifics about how the kids will be contacted when away from one parent.
- Any applicable education, health, or faith-related topics. This includes homework, doctors' appointments or health conditions, and religious practices.
- Financial responsibilities. Talk about who is claiming the tax credit for the child as a dependent.
- Guardianship agreements. This is important in the event of the death of a parent.
- Emergencies. Discuss a plan or protocol for communicating and handling emergency situations involving your child.
- Rules. Set guidelines for activities and routines that will be enforced consistently within both households, such as bed, bath, meal or homework times.
- Relationships. Discuss allowances and boundaries when it comes to friends and social activities, such as deciding when a child is old enough to date.
- Parental life changes. Communicate about any major changes to either parent’s living situation or a new significant other being introduced into the picture.
If your relationship allows, schedule regular parenting discussions to track your child’s progress together
While text messaging can be helpful for communication, it’s often not the best way to share crucial co-parenting information such as upcoming appointments, events or vacation dates. TalkingParents offers several great tools to help you communicate information like this. Our Shared Calendar and Info-Library features offer easy ways to keep organized, documented records of all important communications.