Co-Parenting after Separation and Divorce

Many mental health professionals agree that the quality of the relationships that children have with both of their parents has a great impact on their mental and emotional well-being, self worth and incidence of anxiety and depression.

We can appreciate that co-parenting after separation and divorce isn’t always easy, it can be challenging to say the least.

In mediation while we are working with parents and creating their Parenting Plan, our focus is what is in the best interest of the children.

A few of the goals that should be reached when completing a parenting plan are:

– Try to preserve the child’s routine, keep him/her in their usual extracurricular activities, hobbies, visits with friends and other important features in their life

– Promote time with both parents and extended family

– Allow for flexibility and work together

– Trying to show the child that their parents are still a united front when it comes to raising them

We recommend that if you have children who are underage, that you create a plan for how you are going to co-parent moving forward. The plan will provide clear guidelines and expectations for parents and children. Having a Parenting Plan in place can limit the amount of conflict that may arise from the reality of being separated parents and the challenges that come with that. Limiting the amount of conflict can also mean there is less chance your child is put in the middle.