Co-parenting with your former spouse can be challenging, especially if the marriage ended on particularly bad terms. To make life easier on you and your children, you and your ex-spouse must work together to rebuild trust, so you can effectively co-parent your children as a team. It probably sounds like an impossible task, but there are some helpful strategies that will set you and your ex-spouse on the right path.
Rebuilding Trust with Your Ex-Spouse
The better your co-parenting relationship is, the better things will be not only for your children, but for yourself. With fewer conflicts, you and your ex-spouse can focus on what is important – raising your children.
Here are some tips that will help you rebuild your relationship with your co-parent:
- Follow through on your promises: If you made a promise to your children, or to help your ex-spouse with something regarding the children, stick to it. Doing so will not only help rebuild trust with your former spouse, but it will also ensure your kids feel important and loved. Of course, unexpected events come up sometimes, so if you cannot keep a promise, clearly communicate why to your ex-spouse why you have to back out and find a way to make it up to your children.
- Understand the importance of consistency: Being consistent and reliable is a big part of rebuilding trust with your ex-spouse. Be consistent in how you speak to him or her, respect the childcare schedule, and do not co-parent according to how you feel at any given moment.
- Be a better listener: Listening is a major part of effective communication, so if you are speaking twice as much as you are listening, you and your ex-spouse are going to keep running into communication issues. Just because you are listening to your co-parent does not mean you agree with him or her. It simply means you are giving him or her the chance to be heard, which is crucial for successful communication.
- Be supportive of your co-parent’s relationship with the children: Maybe your relationship with your ex was far from ideal, but that does not make him or her a bad parent. Be supportive of the bond and relationship your children have with your co-parent and let your ex-spouse know that this relationship is important to you.
- Apologize for your mistakes: It can be tough to let down your barriers and apologize for your mistakes, but genuine apologies are necessary for a healthy co-parenting relationship. A heartfelt apology will go a long way in nurturing a better relationship with your former spouse.
Contact a Compassionate Child Custody Attorney Today!
Issues regarding child custody are some of the most difficult most people will ever have to face and is often one of the most hotly contested problems in a divorce. At Beatriz Zyne, P.A., our child custody team can help you guide you through this and ensure you receive the results that best protect the wellbeing of your children. Our legal team has handled hundreds of cases with successful results.
Reach out to our law office today at (305) 876-6138 to schedule a case review and learn more about what our team can do for you.