You and your former spouse decided what to do with assets in your divorce. Now you want to put your full focus on your child custody agreement. What kind of arrangement do you wish to have with the other parent?
Psychology Today explains parallel parenting and co-parenting. Understand both parenting styles to decide which works most favorably for you, your children and your current spouse.
Co-parenting
With a co-parenting style, you and the other parent work together and communicate with each other to raise your shared children. You and your soon-to-be-former spouse may attend events together with your children. Co-parenting relies on flexibility, mutual trust, respect and creativity. This style may work most favorably if child-rearing disagreements did not factor into your divorce.
Parallel parenting
If you and the other parent do not get along well while completing your divorce, you may not want to interact with each other much. Perhaps you did not see eye-to-eye on how to raise your shared children during your marriage. Either way, you may feel more comfortable with a parallel parenting style. This way, you do not have to worry about conflict brewing between you and your ex in front of your kids. You may not like putting up a barrier between you and the other parent, but it could provide the most peaceful solution.
Blending the two
You may adopt both parenting styles while raising your children with your former partner. Ask yourself how much you want to interact with your ex and how highly you regard raising your kids with the other parent.
You want to give your children a happy life. Understanding different parenting styles may help you give them what they need to thrive.
