The Silver Lining Of Co-Parenting After Divorce

Conflict over parenting is nearly a universal experience, but it is more painful than anyone tells you. Two weeks ago, as you drove to the hospital for the birth of your child, you and your spouse giddily anticipated your adventures as a family of three, and now your spouse is screaming at you like a paranoiac because you put on your headphones to watch a movie on your phone, so as not to wake up your sleeping baby, instead of listening to your baby’s every breath, which is apparently what responsible parents are supposed to do. Some couples eventually weather this storm and the ones that inevitably come after it, like the appropriate response to your child’s tantrums and to slights that your child receives at the hands of peers, and rules about cell phone use and about driving. Others find that one conflict leads to another, and they eventually divorce, especially if their conflicting values about parenting shed light on their conflicting values about other things. Unfortunately, the conflicts sometimes get worse after divorce, especially since your ex can, in theory, go to court and get a judge to declare that you are wrong, and maybe even punish you with monetary fines or a reduction in parenting time. Just maybe, though, co-parenting according to a parenting plan can help you and your ex keep the peace. For help drafting a parenting time that protects your boundaries and your relationship with your children, contact a Birmingham child custody lawyer.

Time All to Yourself

Every divorced couple with minor children has a parenting plan, and the parenting plan clearly states which parent is with the children on which day, or more specifically each night, of the year. When your children are with your ex-spouse, you cannot micromanage. You just have to trust your children and your ex-spouse. If your ex’s lies and flakiness contributed to your divorce, it may not be easy to think about things that way, so here is another perspective.

Your ex’s parenting time is the “me time” that, if you had been able to find it earlier, might have saved your marriage. While your children are at your ex’s house, you can catch up on sleep, speak freely with your foul-mouthed friends, pick up the shifts at work that pay the best, have a few cocktails within reason, or do almost anything you please.

Time to Have Your Children All to Yourself

Likewise, when it is your parenting time, your ex-spouse does not have the right to micromanage you. If you want to take your children out for ice cream on a Thursday evening, your ex is not there to grumble about the cost or the calories. You and your children can enjoy all your favorite conversation topics and inside jokes without your ex raining on your parade.

Contact Peeples Law About Learning to Love Co-Parenting

A Birmingham family law attorney can help you approach co-parenting after divorce as a relief rather than a struggle.  Contact Peeples Law in Birmingham, Alabama today to schedule a consultation.

Source:

scarymommy.com/parenting/an-unexpected-upside-of-divorce-scheduled-alone-time