Parent Resources
The 10 Best Parenting Practices and 10 Pitfalls to avoid when Co-Parenting through Divorce
10 BEST PRACTICES
- Pay special attention to your child's needs at this time.
- Both parents should sit down together and talk to your children about the break up.
- Show your child where you are living before they have parenting time with you.
- It's important for your child to love both parents, so promote the other parent actively!
- Keep your kids' school, routines, and activities as stable as possible.
- Talk directly to your co-parent about adult issues, do not pass messages through your child.
- Keep parenting time transitions conflict-free, natural transitions are best.
- Assess whether your child will benefit from therapy. Both parents should participate.
- Educate your friends and family about the importance of your co-parent in your child's life.
- If you have an attorney, partner with them to manage the level of conflict in your case. Remember YOU are in charge of your attorney.
10 PITFALLS TO AVOID
- At no time should you talk about the adult details of your divorce with your child; this is destructive to your child.
- Never talk about your new financial situation to your child, it is inappropriate and harmful.
- Avoid telling your child that they have a voice in the legal proceedings.
- Don't give up on disciplining your child because you want them to love you more than your co-parent.
- Refrain from criticizing your kids when they seem to be returning to behaviors of a younger age.
- Stay away from introducing your child to your new dates or to a new partner with whom you are becoming serious, too soon.
- Never tell your kids that your partner is their "new Mom or Dad."
- Resist using your child as a spy to find out what's going on in your co-parent's life.
- Stay away from delegating too much responsibility for babysitting younger kids or for household chores to your child.
- Avoid allowing your child to play one parent against the other.
Read more about helpful parenting practices and pitfalls to avoid when you are divorcing or separating from The High Conflict Co-Parenting Resource Group.
10 BEST AND WORST PARENTING.pdf
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BOOKS FOR PARENTS AND ADULTS
What About the Kids? Raising Your Children Before, During, and After Divorce
Mom's
House, Dad's House: Making Two Homes for Your Child
by Isolina Ricci
Shared Parenting: Beyond the Great Divide: The Twenty Essential Co-Parenting Tasks for Raising Children in Two Homes by Frank Leek
Two Happy Homes: A Working Guide for Parents & Stepparents After Divorce and Remarriage
by Shirley Thomas
Ex-Etiquette for Parents: Good Behavior After a Divorce or Separation
by Jann Blackstone-Ford
Divorce Poison: Protecting the Parent-Child Bond from a Vindictive Ex.
by Richard A. Warshak
Parenting After Divorce: A Guide to Resolving Conflicts and Meeting Your Children's Needs
by Philip Michael Stahl
Fathers Are Forever: A Co-Parenting Guide for the 21st Century
by Steven Ashley; Paperback
The Co-Parenting Survival Guide: Letting Go of Conflict after a Difficult Divorce
by Elizabeth Thayer Ph.D. (Foreword), Jeffrey Zimmerman Ph.D.
Co-Parenting After Divorce: How to Raise Happy, Healthy Children in Two-Home Families
by Diana Shulman
Divorce & New Beginnings: A Complete Guide to Recovery, Solo Parenting, Co-Parenting, and Stepfamilies
by Genevieve Clapp
Wednesday Evenings and Every Other Weekend : From Divorced Dad to Competent Co-Parent. A Guide for the Noncustodial Father
by F. Daniel McClure, Jerry B. Saffer
Good Parenting Through Your Divorce: How to Recognize, Encourage, and Respond to Your Child's Feelings and Help Them Get Through Your
Divorce
by Judge Ina Gyemant
Surviving the Breakup: How Children and Parents Cope With Divorce
by Judith S. Wallerstein
7 Steps to Bonding with Your Stepchild by Suzen J. Ziegahn
Overcoming the Co-Parenting Trap: Essential Parenting Skills When a Child Resists a Parent by John A Moran, PH.D., Tyler Sullivan, & Matthew Sullivan PH.D.
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