Finding Solutions To Complex Issues

Could parallel co-parenting work for you, your kids and your ex?

On Behalf of | Aug 13, 2021 | Child Custody |

Raising children with a high-conflict co-parent is challenging under the best of circumstances. After you and your ex divorce, you may discover that it is even harder to get along with your high-conflict co-parent. However, since you share children with your ex, you will likely need to work together until your kids are adults.

Effective child custody and parenting time plans allow each parent to spend quality time with their kids. Unfortunately, difficulty communicating with a high-conflict parent can wreck a plan that looked great on paper. Some parents in St. Paul, Minnesota, have discovered that a parallel co-parenting plan solves many communication problems when conflict exists.

What is parallel parenting?

It is a unique child custody and parenting time model that allows each parent to care for the kids in their way. It also minimizes communication between both parents. One of the challenges of this plan is that the other parent (the low-conflict parent) must often let go of his or her preconceived notion of effective parenting.

For example, say that you make sure your kids go to bed at 8 p.m. each night when they are with you. Your co-parent prefers to let the children stay up until 10 p.m. each night. In parallel parenting, you must refrain from demanding that your co-parent follow the same schedule and routines that you follow.

Many benefits come with parallel parenting. It limits contact between parents that cannot communicate or get along, thereby reducing stress for everyone. It can also protect your kids from the conflict that often comes with co-parenting in separate households.

Before committing to a parallel parenting plan or other nontraditional solution, consider learning more about child custody in our state.

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