Co-parenting children after a high-conflict divorce can be full of challenges and hardships. However, one strategy that might help divorced parents in Oklahoma who struggle with their communication and interactions is parallel parenting.
How does parallel parenting work?
Parallel parenting limits the interactions and communications between parents and helps to minimize conflicts. This allows each parent to have more freedom in their parenting choices when they are with their children. For this to be successful, parents need to create a plan that establishes important aspects of the parenting journey and when the parents should work together, such as how emergencies will be handled, how holidays will be spent and any other major areas that the parents want included.
How does parallel parenting benefit families?
A successful co-parenting journey allows children to grow in supportive, loving environments. When parents struggle to have civil conversations, the conflict between them can harm the children’s emotional stability. Avoiding this is one of the benefits of parallel parenting. Other benefits include:
- Providing each parent with greater control over their parenting decisions
- Requiring less direct communication between the parents
- Allowing for a more relaxed home atmosphere for both parents and children
- Having more security in the co-parenting journey by following a well-defined parenting plan
Important aspects of parallel parenting
The concept of parallel parenting is different from other co-parenting strategies in some important ways. To limit those stressful interactions, parents can set rules about keeping certain distances when they need to have in-person interactions such as during children exchanges or school activities. They can also choose the methods of communication that work best for them, such as text messages, emails or parenting apps, thus avoiding having to speak on the phone to each other. They can also choose what issues they will communicate about, allowing them to then freely parent their way during their time with their children.
Parallel parenting might be the strategy that works for you long-term. However, if your relationship improves as the children grow, you might use this strategy only temporarily.