Choosing how to co-parent after a divorce is a deeply personal decision that differs from divorcee to divorcee. What benefits you and your child might not be the same as what benefits other families.
You will have to go through your options and break them down one by one to see which has the highest net benefit to gain. One of the options you can look into is parallel parenting.
A new form of cooperative parenting
Psychology Today defines parallel parenting, one of the most popular options for divorced parents. Parallel parenting allows for you and your co-parent to work together to raise your child while simultaneously avoiding direct contact.
This may seem counterintuitive, but it actually does a lot of good in high-stress situations where you and your co-parent simply cannot get along or communicate face-to-face without the conversation breaking down and ending in an argument.
Avoidance of conflict
While cooperative parenting styles often benefit children the most, this effect ends up nullified if you and your co-parent constantly get into arguments. Studies show that children of divorce find it traumatizing to witness their parents fight, so you want to avoid this to the best of your abilities.
Instead, by avoiding these conflicts, you can focus your energy on giving your child all the attention, help, love and parental guidance that they need without any additional trauma. You and your co-parent will communicate strictly via text instead, which lets you keep each other up to date without having to hold in-person chats.
You can work together with legal help to determine if this option will serve you and your child well.
