Raising a child in New Jersey with someone you no longer share a romantic relationship with may prove difficult, especially if your relationship with your child’s other parent is less than amicable. However, the more you and your child’s other parent fight, the more likely your child is to experience negative effects because of it. On the flip side, learning to co-parent well leads to numerous benefits for your son or daughter, and there are certain steps you might take to make the period of adjustment easier for everyone.
Per Medical News Today, it takes cooperation and communication for you and your ex to maintain a successful co-parenting relationship.
How co-parenting benefits your child
A growing body of evidence shows just how much your child benefits when you and your ex learn to co-parent. For starters, your child becomes less likely to experience significant levels of stress or anxiety. Furthermore, children whose parents learn to work well together often avoid many hardships that come with having parents who fight with one another. When a child’s parents fight, that child becomes more likely to develop a wide range of psychological, physical and behavioral symptoms compared to children whose parents do not regularly engage in conflicts.
How to improve your co-parenting relationship
Both you and your ex must keep in mind that your child comes first, regardless of your personal feelings for one another. If you and your ex communicate poorly, consider limiting communications to emails or text messages. Set rules, too, about when you each have the right to make decisions for your child and when you have to confer with one another before doing so.
The more you and your ex learn to avoid conflict, the more stable your child’s life may be.
