There is nothing easy about choosing to end a marriage – and some of the worst hit people (almost always unintentionally) are the children. There are absolute mountains of case studies showing how physiologically damaging a parental separation can be for children – but often times, especially in the case of marriages or relationships that just won’t work, it’s the best option. Parents need to be consciously aware of the problems and stresses a major change like this is going to have on their children, and despite any and all differences should make sure they are putting their best foot forward to co-parent together. There will be changes, and nobody ever said it would be easy, but there are a lot of programs out there to assist parents looking to perfect a co-parenting situation – and one of the best is Parenting Class.
During your divorce proceeding, the judge will almost always lay down a decree for the custody rights of the children. It may be sole custody, it may be sole custody with visitation rights, and it may be joint custody – either way, there is going to be a lifetime of interaction between you and your former spouse and the two of you need to make certain that you are doing the absolute best by your children. No matter the specific custody situation (unless there is a ruling because of potential dangers one parent may pose), you need to understand that this is, at least at first, going to be a very confusing time for your kids – and for both of you as parents.
It has almost never been said that co-parenting is a smooth or easy ride – you’re both separating because of problems in your relationship, but may have wonderful little ones caught in the middle. Sometimes it’s hard to look past the difficulties you and your former partner had, but it’s important to understand that from here on out you have to move past those issues and focusing squarely on being the best parents you can be. It is going to be tough – especially at first, and will most likely continue to be difficult for sometime. But you both need to do your absolute best to make sure that the children involved never see the strain, and only have solid rocks to fall back on.
Parenting Class makes this situation a whole lot easier – you will not only have a dedicated support group of like minded people going through similar situations as you are, but you’ll receive the kind of guidance and experience you need when navigating some of the difficult waters of co-parenting. It’s important to have access to Parenting Class throughout the stages of your co-parenting life – both of you will likely find new relationships, and as you grow and mature on your own you’ll both likely have separate ideas and philosophies about raising your children. Parenting Class helps you better understand how to intereact with each other in a respectful manner and pilot the rocky road that is raising children together, even when you chose not to be in a relationship.
This article is brought to you by the Texas Cooperative Parenting Course™, a divorce parenting course online made for Texans, equips separating, divorced, or never-married parents with skills to successfully co-parent children between 2 homes. It is the only online course written by a Texas Domestic Relations Office and meets the requirements of Texas Family Code sec. 105.009.