Many parents struggle initially when they split from their partners and have to adjust to a new co-parenting relationship. Learning to co-parent with someone else is rarely easy, and it may prove even more difficult if your marriage or relationship ended because someone cheated or otherwise broke the other party’s trust. While learning how to co-parent effectively is beneficial for the child you share together, so, too, is learning to avoid common co-parenting mistakes.
Per Medical News Today, many people navigating new co-parenting relationships make similar errors while adjusting to their new way of life. For your child’s sake, try to avoid making the following three common co-parenting errors.
1. Attempting to “buy” your child’s love
It is not uncommon for one parent in a co-parenting relationship to attempt to gain favor with the shared child by spending money on him or her. Some parents also allow children to get away with more, rule-wise, after a split than they typically would.
2. Speaking ill of the other party
It is also common for one parent, or both parents, to speak ill of their former partners in front of the child they share. Be sure to avoid badmouthing the other party in your child’s presence, though, as doing so has the potential to cause serious harm to the relationship you and your child, or your ex and your child, share.
3. Using the child to punish the other parent
You also want to avoid using your child as leverage or a form of punishment to “get back at” your one-time partner for his or her misdeeds.
While learning to co-parent is often challenging, the sooner you figure out how to do it well, the better off your child may be.