Co-Parenting with Clear Vision

I distorted my vision yesterday by accident. I was having trouble seeing and decided I needed to change out my contacts. Since I serve as a piano accompanist at church, it's important that I see well on Sunday mornings.

I had already put my contacts in but as I practiced my music, it appeared blurry. So, I went to put in a different pair but noticed that only made it worse. I began to panic as I needed to be at church in 20 minutes but I needed to be able to see!

I considered putting the original lenses back in and as I looked at the counter, I noticed there was only one contact there. I realized I had not taken one contact out and had two contacts in one eye, thus creating a horrible problem! (Crazy, huh?)

Sometimes we create our own problems with co-parenting due to poor vision with an ex-spouse. We may be convinced that since they were not good marriage partners, they are not good parents. And we spend too much time trying to control what goes on in their home instead of working harder at what goes on in our home.

There are many different ways to parent. Sometimes children benefit from different styles of parenting. The important factor is for each parent to be consistent in their own home. If there are concerns about parenting issues, they should be handled in private, outside of the ears of the children.

Old marital issues need to be set aside and emotional ties severed for co-parenting to work well. It may be necessary to offer forgiveness for unresolved issues.

Co-parenting with clear vision means we let go of the differences that resulted in divorce and work together for the sake of the children. We resist competing with our ex-spouse or creating hidden personal agendas, which complicates the goal of successful co-parenting.

Children have the right to continue a loving relationship with both parents after divorce. They can easily move back and forth from one home to another when effective co-parenting exists. But it will not happen without concentrated effort with all parties involved.

What strategies do you use to make co-parenting work for you?