When you got married, you likely weren’t thinking about how you were going to get out. You may have been worried and anxious, but for most, those feelings are associated with any big step in life. While marriage is a big step, those initial emotions don’t often lead to immediate thoughts of separation or divorce.
Just as a strong relationship and marriage take time to develop, so do failing relationships and marriages. Some divorces are peaceful, as the couple simply grew apart. Others are intense, stressful and a battle to the very end. Child custody issues are one area that can lead to ugly divorce proceedings.
Once the divorce is finalized, and if custody has been assigned to both parents, the new test of co-parenting will begin. There are numerous resources to help you with the transition, the five books highlighted below are some to guide you and your spouse through the ups and downs associated with co-parenting.
- Parenting Apart: How Separated and Divorced Parents Can Raise Happy and Secure Kids – This book by Christina McGhee yields advice to parents on how to speak with their toddler to teenage aged kids about the separation. It also provides remedies to other issues parents face directly after divorce and includes vocabulary meant to ease and guide you through the co-parenting transition. This is a great book for those looking for beginner’s advice to post-divorce parenting.
- Mom’s House, Dad’s House – Renowned psychologist Isolina Ricci penned this book that provides numerous resources (checklists, self-exams, and instructions) to assist you and your spouse’s joint custody endeavor. There is also a psychological aspect to this book, as Dr. Ricci examines why certain parents are better suited to co-parent.
- The Co-Parenting Handbook – Welcome to the all-around joint custody guide. This book by co-parenting coach Karen Bonnell offers guidance for parents and children. The book ranges from educating you on the best methods of communication to home separation can impact emotion, causing conflict, anxiety, and confusion among you, your spouse and your children.
- Co-Parenting 101: Helping Your Kids Thrive in Two Households after Divorce – Written by a now co-parenting couple, the authors of this book, Deesha Philyaw and Michael D. Thomas, hit the right notes. This book is a guide for co-parenting, complete with how to deal with the many trials, tribulations, and joyful moments that come with joint custody.
- Joint Custody with a Jerk: Raising a Child with an Uncooperative Ex – Sometimes, joint custody isn’t peachy. Whether the problem rests with one parent or both, conflicting parents pre-divorce are often conflicting parents post-divorce. If the co-parenting conflict does rest on the shoulders of only one parent, that’s not fun. It becomes increasingly difficult to successfully co-parent with a difficult and unsupportive ex-spouse. This book does its best to smooth the tension by providing communication techniques and other educational guides. The author, Julie A. Ross, also provides an in-depth look at the good and bad repercussions of digital communication.
Adhere to the advice these books provide and make you and your children’s post-divorce lives as rewarding as they can be.