While many professionals claim that co-parenting has the most positive results on the children of divorced couples, there are situations where co-parenting is not in the children’s best interests. High-conflict divorces make it difficult for parents to communicate with one another without a fight. Parallel parenting is a better option if you and your spouse fit the mold.
Parallel parenting is a type of shared parenting where you interact as little as possible with the other parent.
How does parallel parenting differ from traditional co-parenting?
Traditional co-parenting hinges on communication. In parallel parenting, you and your spouse have detailed parenting plans to follow with rules intact in case of disagreements. You may not even see each other when exchanging kids during visitation. Parents meet on neutral ground and the kids go from one car to the next. Sometimes, a friend or family member may help with the exchange.
How can you reduce the chances of fighting during parallel parenting?
If you have to communicate with one another, do so over text or email. Written communication is better because it gives you time to think about your responses. Likewise, it allows you to track the conversations. Some parents may use parallel parenting applications to save conversations and post calendars, milestones and other documents without exchanging anything in-person.
Whether you parallel parent or co-parent, make sure you do not talk poorly of your former spouse in front of your children. Parallel parenting can show them an excellent example of two people working together, despite their differences, for their children.