The Key to Successful Co-Parenting

Parenting in its ideal form should be about creating a joyful childhood for your offspring, plain and simple. That way, they have a solid foundation from which to spring into adulthood and become high-functioning, happy contributors to our world.

Whether you remain married to your children’s other parent or not, you can achieve this. It becomes easier, of course, if you have a plan and a vision for what you intend to do as a parent.

Parenting is not about putting your hopes and dreams onto your child or forcing them into your definition of smart, successful, or happy. It’s about seeing each child for who he or she is, and guiding them toward their best future.

Photo by Emeric Deroubaix on Unsplash

Photo by Jhon David on Unsplash

When we have a joyful childhood, we can easily transition through the phases of growing up and enter adulthood content, complete, and confident. We have a better world when we are surrounded by these kinds of adults – not the broken, yearning ones.

As an adult, I often try to get back to when I was a child, to my truth, my core, to enjoy life so much more. As children, we know inherently who we are. We are true to that.

We don’t worry or ruminate over decisions or paths. We just go and live and do.

As we grow older and become adults, we lose that. As parents, we are trying to raise functioning adults so let’s create joyful childhoods for them so we can achieve that goal!

That way, when they are adults, they can reach back into where they started and pull out some joyful memories to anchor them through tough times.

If you’re a divorce parent, see if you can get your co-parent to be on the same page with you about this. After all, it’s not about hurt feelings and who-left-whom. It’s about banding together to do what is best and right for your children.

Remember, as co-parents, your job is to come together to provide the best, healthiest, supportive foundation for your children. It’s about them, not about you. If you can keep that guiding truth in front of you, you’ll do just fine – by them, and by you.