You and your spouse are divorcing, and you need to decide who will have custody of the kids. This agreement will detail your child’s education, religious upbringing and their food and medical requirements. Most people collaborate with the other child’s parent in a co-parenting arrangement. Co-parenting allows each parent to make decisions jointly.
Some parents are unable to put aside their disagreements in order to best serve their children. Parents may want to think about changing their child custody agreement from a co-parenting plan to a parallel parenting plan if this occurs. This parenting strategy intends to limit communication between parents and grant each individual parent more control over parenting choices when their children are with them.
Many parents don’t begin with a parallel parenting plan. After finding that a co-parenting plan doesn’t work, parents may opt to change their custody arrangement. When should parents make the change to a parallel parenting plan?
When each parent is fighting for control
It can be hard for parents to change how they raise their children after divorce. Some parents can relinquish a little bit of their control over their children after divorce, but it often means sacrificing their beliefs. Parents who struggle to work with their child’s other parents may fight for more control.
For example, a parent may wish to spend more time with their children. They may push for more personal time with their children, but this would mean taking time from the other parent. Or, one parent may disagree with the religious upbringing the other parent is giving to their children. These kinds of disagreements can lead to many fights that hurt the well-being of children.
Parents who are fighting constant pushback from the other parent may need to seek a modified parenting plan. Parents may need to reach out for legal help to learn about their options.