As your life changes with a divorce, so does your child’s. Divorce has a heavy impact on children because often, they think they are to blame for the separation. This is why it is so important to pay attention to your child’s needs and spend time with them.
One of the most important things you need to do for your child is to maintain good relations and effective communication with your co-parent. Going from parents to co-parents is not easy and will certainly take some time to adjust. A Divorce Lawyer Ottawa can take care of the legalities while you focus on more important things: your children.
Tips for improving communication with your co-parent
- Treat your ex as a business partner.
If you have a job or a business, you have likely had a co-worker or an employee you did not like. However, you still maintained contact with them to get the work done without letting your feelings towards them come in between. That is exactly how you need to be with your co-parent.
When you communicate, simply exchange the necessary information without diving into emotions and bringing up personal matters. Make sure that the subject of your conversations is always your children.
- Find a suitable way of communication.
It is undeniably complicated to communicate with your ex-spouse without it ending in a fight. However, that does not mean you can simply stop talking to them altogether. If you are not able to speak to them face to face, you could try doing it over a phone call or text. You could also send voice recordings to each other. But, even this method will go to waste if you use a different “tone” in your texts. Make sure your texts are strictly professional.
- Do not argue in front of your children.
If you and your ex-spouse cannot discuss important matters related to your kids without arguing, it is not a good idea to start the conversation when the children are watching you. You should make sure that the conversations you have are polite and respectful. If you do have a disagreement, you are allowed to fight; just not where your kids can see or hear you. It may be tempting to speak up and defend yourself, but you will be protecting your kids in the long run.
- Do not badmouth your ex.
Badmouthing exes is something that everyone is tempted to do. However, the same can be unhealthy for your kids. Remember that your ex is still the mother/father of your kids, and it is important that they retain a good relationship. When you speak poorly about your ex, your kids may think they need to pick sides, which should never be the case.
