What is Co-Parenting?
Co-Parenting is essentially
CO-operative PARENTING.
Cooperation is the key!
Divorcing parents make a significant impact on how their children adjust to divorce by the way the parents work out theri Co-Parenting plan. Here are some things to keep in mind as you proceed with your divorce.
People do the best they know how to, given their resources and abilities
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Children in divorced families will be impacted by their parents' co-parenting styles
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Co-parenting styles change in the transition from pre-divorce to post-divorce
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None of us can change another person; we can only change ourselves
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Divorced parents cannot NOT co-parent; HOW they co-parent is the critical factor
- Parents have the skills to implement their Co-Parenting strategies, though they may benefit from working with a Divorce Coach in order to make their plan work more smoothly
- Develop parenting styles that are consistent between Mom's house and Dad's house
Why Is Co-Parenting So Important?
- There were more than 14,000 contested divorces in Utah last year.
- Half of the children of divorce grow up in families where the parents stay angry with each other
- Children of divorce are TWO to THREE times as likely to develop problems as children from intact families
- Children of divorce experience higher divorce rates when they marry
- These same children may have poor psychological adjustment
- AND have lower academic and economic achievements
Important Resources
Collaborative Divorce
www.cflutah.com
Mediation Resources
www.utcourts.gov/mediation
Divorce Orientation and
Divorce Education Classes
www.utcourts.gov/specproj/dived.htm
"My Father"
My father is never there.
He acts as though he doesn't care.
--Laura, Ohio (age 13)
"Spl/it"
There is a part of me that wants
To be in both places at the same time.
Back with my father
Yet never leaving my mother.
--Alexandra, Connecticut (age 13)
about divorce coaching or developing
a Co-Parenting Plan at coach@utahdivorcecoach.com