While divorce can end personal interactions between ex-spouses, you will still need to communicate with your co-parent. When two people share children, they must coordinate to parent them cooperatively.
If you are on reasonably good terms with your ex, you may experience few or no child-centered communication problems. However, that is not the case in most co-parenting situations, so they must learn how to improve communication with each other.
Detailed child custody and parenting plans
Before a divorce concludes, parents must make critical decisions about child custody. In California, a parenting plan is much like a detailed container for custody and visitation arrangements. Once signed by a judge and both parents, it transforms into an official court order that the parents must follow.
The more detailed your parenting plan is, the more it helps you and your co-parent avoid custody disputes. If you can prevent or avoid these disputes, your parent-to-parent communications will likely improve. Try to address as many child-related topics as possible in your plan to get the most communication benefits.
Try to reduce direct discussions
If nearly every interaction between you and your co-parent devolves into a battle, consider reducing your direct communications. In the modern world, co-parenting interactions can occur without needing to see or speak to each other.
Try to restrict most of your communications to emails or texts if you believe decreasing direct conversation is your solution. Alternatively, you can limit most of your interactions to one of the many co-parenting apps available to parents.
To ensure the court will approve your parenting plan, learn more about California child custody and visitation laws.