ADAMS' FAMILY LAW BLOG
How to Co-Parent During the School Year
Co-parenting with an ex-spouse can be challenging, especially when your child goes back to school. During the school year, parents will have to deal with issues that don’t arise over summer vacation, including sick days, homework assignments, parent-teacher conferences, and carpools. How can you successfully co-parent during the school year? Follow these tips:
Attend conferences together.
Teachers typically share information on what’s going on at school and how your child is performing during
parent-teacher conferences. Both parents will want to hear this information, so plan on attending these conferences together. If one parent can’t make it, the other parent should make an effort to share the details of the meeting with him or her as soon as possible. Doing this ensures that both parents are kept in the loop about what’s happening in their child’s life.
Don’t use your child as the messenger.
If you need to say something to your ex, say it directly to him instead of using your child as the messenger. For instance, let’s say your child brings him a progress report that shows he is struggling in math. Only one parent has to sign it, so this means your ex-spouse may never see the report. Instead of telling your child to talk to his other parent about his grades, pick up the phone and initiate this conversation yourself. Your child does not need to be put in the middle of his parents, so keep him out of these conversations.
Create a shared calendar.
Both parents will need to know about homework assignments and projects if they share custody of a child. But, parents shouldn’t rely on their young children to inform them of upcoming due dates. A good way to keep track of everything is to create a
shared calendar on your smartphone that both you and your spouse can access and edit. Both parents should update the calendar with conferences, school events, and homework due dates. Doing this will make each parent feel more involved—and it will also prevent a homework assignment from slipping through the cracks.
Be flexible.
It’s inevitable that your child will get sick at some point during the school year, which means he will either need to stay home or be picked up from school early. But, the custodial parent may not always be available on the day that the child falls ill. If this happens, step in and help each other out. Pick your child up early from school if your ex-spouse can’t—even if you’re not supposed to have custody of the child on that day. Co-parenting is much easier if both of you are willing to be flexible in order to put your child’s best interests first.
If you are filing for divorce, contact the divorce attorneys at
Adams Family Law today. Our team will always put your child first when working towards resolutions in child support and child custody disputes. To schedule a consultation, call 513-929-9333 or email
Steven@adamsfamilylaw.com.