On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Family Law on Wednesday, November 28, 2018.
Co-parenting effectively can be a difficult responsibility when a marriage is breaking up. Parents naturally want a separation or divorce to cause the least amount of stress possible for their kids, and with some careful planning, it can happen.
If everyone is able to work together amicably, nesting is a concept that a couple may want to try. According to family therapists, the concept can work well for a brief time with up to six months at the very most being recommended. The idea is that children stay put in their home, and the parents take turns staying in the house with them. While one parent is at home with the kids, the other stays in an apartment that the pair share.
No matter how things are handled during a divorce, the children’s well-being is critical to their mental health during their developmental years. It is important for kids to retain relationships with both parents, and they also need contact with the extended family with whom they have healthy connections. Grandparents’ rights are another concept that divorcing couples may need to agree upon.
Child mental health professionals concur that co-parenting is the most effective when kids have the same rules and structure with both parents. Things like homework expectations and bedtimes need to remain the same, and there need to be consequences as required. Though they don’t consciously realize it, children thrive well on consistency.
By the time parents get to family court, it generally goes more smoothly if the couple has worked out as many details as possible. Things like child custody and support should have at least been discussed. Parenting time, including holidays, vacations and birthday schedules, need to be determined as well. It is wise for each party to rely on his or her own attorney to help with divorce agreements.
