Each co-parenting situation is unique, so having your ex live in the garage apartment is probably not the case in your circumstance. But the objective should be constant: Children benefit from parents cooperating through a co-parenting strategy.
Is it possible between you and the father of your kids? I think it’s possible. Will it be easy? Often not, but I bet you’re willing to put in the effort since you love your kids and would sacrifice anything for their happiness. So take a look at these 5 co-parenting approaches and what to do if it doesn’t seem like co-parenting is an option.
The Various Co-Parenting Methods
I’m going to use Tammy Daughtry’s book Co-Parenting Works! as my source for these five examples of how parents can (or won’t) cooperate and how it affects their kids:
Perfect Friends
High interaction and communication. The fact that the parents appear to be married but actually reside in separate homes can be perplexing to the child.
Cooperating Coworkers
There is moderate interaction with high communication. This is the co-parenting approach that benefits the child the most overall.
Angry Associates
In this case, there is low interaction/moderate communication When co-parents are angry with each other, the situation can become very tense and frighten the child.
Fiery Foes
There is low interaction and communication here. When parents do communicate, it usually turns into an argument, which causes a great deal of stress for the kids.
Dissolved Duos
There is no conversation or interaction between parents. This frequently results in parentification, in which the kid ends up taking care of the adult while not getting what they need.
In situations like this, it can be challenging to separate responsibility from emotion. However, it creates a secure environment for the kids to flourish when parents can lay aside their differences for the benefit of their kids. Although that situation is ideal, not everyone can manage it.