A divorce can be a traumatic experience especially when it comes to co-parenting after divorce. Co-parenting refers to the act of two parents raising a child even though they are no longer romantically involved. Both parents work with each other to ensure their child has a safe and loving environment to grow up in and—in an ideal situation—communication lines between parents are kept as open as possible.

1. Put aside your hurt and anger. Making joint decisions about the children and coordinating drop-offs and pickups can be emotionally draining. Feeling angry and upset is normal, but you don’t let your feelings control the other parent your behavior. Focus on doing what’s best for your children. Never vent to your child or criticize your co-parent in front of your children. This can help you ensure your children’s happiness, success, and well-being during and after the divorce.
2. Make respectful communication a priority. You may not be friends with your ex, after all, you divorced or separated for a reason, but that doesn’t mean you can’t treat each other civilly. Respect is essential for the health of the family and will help a child understand that it is ok to love and spend time with both parents.
3. Put your kids first. Putting your children’s needs first may seem obvious, but many couples say it can be hard to remember this in the heat of the moment. Particularly if the split was messy. Putting the kids first means you don’t put your children in the middle. Don’t use your kids as messengers or go-betweens. Putting them between their parents isn’t fair to them. 
4. Be clear about your requests. With any request that you make to your co-parent regarding summer plans, exchange times, or anything else, do it in writing, preferably by email. Text messages tend to get missed or buried, and it’s easier to send off a text message in the heat of the moment. In addition to emails and texts, we have several apps (Talking Parent, Our Family Wizard, AppClose, and others)  to help with parent commutations.
5. Keep the kids at the center of your decision-making. As co-parents, your primary goal should be to keep the best interest of the kids at the center of your decision-making. That means you need to consider the days and times of your summer plans or other plans for the children and whether they work well with your children’s schedules and interests.
6. Keep your former partner up to date. Your child will benefit when both parents know what’s going on. You and your former partner can keep each other up to date by using a shared weekly schedule, apps or sending messages on any special events, school, schedules and other important information.
7. Aim to be flexible. It benefits everyone to be a little bit flexible. For example, if your former partner is sometimes late for pick-ups, it might help to be ready with alternative plans. Try to keep in mind that getting upset about a change your former partner makes might make it tricky the next time you need to change things. Your plans will also need to adapt as your child grows up and his needs and circumstances change – for example when he starts school, changes schools, and or other activities.
8. Don’t argue in front of the children. Stay calm in front of your kids and deal with the co-parenting conflict privately. High levels of conflict impact your children negatively.
9. Communicate as a team – Even in arguments. Disagreements will arise and when they do, it’s best to keep heated moments away from the children. If you must bring a contention up in front of the kids, do it wisely and continue to be civil. It can actually be helpful for kids to see their parents go through the process of working through a disagreement. Remember to never get personal, and to treat each other with respect

Need Information On Divorce. Contact A Las Vegas Divorce Attorney.

Our office addresses divorce, paternity, child custody, visitation, child support, and other family-related cases. With a compassionate, experienced, attorney on your side- your rights, and those of your child, will be protected. If you have any questions or would like our help please contact us at (702) 776-7179 or schedule a consultation online at https://jacovinolaw.com/schedule-a-consultation/