Sharing the custody of your children with your ex-spouse is not an easy thing to do. It means that you do not see your children every day. You may miss out on important events in their lives. There is no doubt that it is tough. However, Colorado courts try to create a situation where you and the other parent get to each spend equal and quality time with the children.
If you can work out a joint custody arrangement, that can be the preferable scenario for everyone, allowing you to maintain your relationships and family unit. However, managing joint custody is often a challenge. Parents Magazine explains that it is up to you and your ex-spouse to make it work. Here are three guidelines you may want to implement to make things easier.
1. Arrange schedules that work for the children
Your children are the most inconvenienced party in this whole situation. They had few or no choices in what would happen. With this in mind, your arrangement needs to put the children first, always. You should work your custody schedule out depending on your children’s schedules so that it does not overly interfere with or cause issues in their lives.
2. Recognize your ex-spouse’s ability to parent
While you and your ex-spouse may not be on the best of terms due to issues you had in your marriage, you should recognize his or her parenting abilities. Even if your ex-spouse was not a great partner, he or she could still be an amazing parent. Avoid holding your personal feelings against him or her and simply focus on parenting.
3. Be ready to compromise
Trying to coordinate two households is not an easy task, so you have to be ready for things to go off-schedule every once in a while. Sometimes it will be unavoidable. You need to be ready for this and understanding when it happens.
Following these three tips can take a lot of the tension out of a joint parenting situation. When you learn to focus on the kids and avoid rehashing old arguments, you have a better chance of making it work.