How can parallel parenting help?

On Behalf of | Oct 11, 2021 | Divorce |

As the parent of a child going through a divorce, you likely prioritize your child’s future health, safety and happiness above all else. To that end, figuring out a parenting plan likely holds a lot of your attention.

While looking through the many varied options available, keep parallel parenting in your mind. It might offer you the benefits you need.

Who does parallel parenting serve?

Psychology Today takes a look at parallel parenting and the ways it can help. First off, parallel parenting serves those who do not feel as though they reached a point where they could succeed with cooperative parenting. It is a way of working toward cooperative parenting as an end goal by removing sources of tension and argument in the direct aftermath of the divorce.

In short, when you utilize parallel parenting, you and your co-parent do not communicate directly. This means no in-person meetings or face-to-face contact. In some cases, you do not even use phones for speaking. Instead, you use text and writing-based communication only. This means you rely entirely on emails, text messages, instant messages or even written letters.

Avoiding communication

You can even avoid conversation by using notebooks to communicate via recorded events and visitation days. This allows you both to continue parenting your child together without the added risk of in-person arguments and fights.

Over time, a court will continue to judge your progress in the aftermath of the divorce. Eventually, the aim is to graduate from parallel to cooperative parenting. In the meantime, keeping separate can contribute greatly to your ability to work together without actually having to work together.

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