If you are no longer in a marriage or a relationship with the parent of your child, it is likely that you have heard a lot of advice on how to co-parent. Co-parenting is defined as the act of collaborating and communicating with the other parent of your child, so that you can both act in their best interests. For most parents, it is a challenge, but it can be achieved through continuous efforts in establishing healthy boundaries and ways to communicate.
However, for some parents, successful co-parenting is simply not a possibility. This may be because your ex was abusive toward you in the past or because you cannot communicate constructively. If you believe that the other parent is a risk to your child, it is vital that you express these concerns to the courts.
If it has been ruled that the parent does not pose a risk to the child, but he or she has been verbally abusive toward you, it is likely that you will come to the conclusion that co-parenting will not be possible. In this case, you may want to evaluate the benefits of parallel parenting.
What is parallel parenting?
Parallel parenting is a situation where it becomes possible for successful parenting to be achieved, even with minimal communication between parents. In order for this set-up to be functional, it means that the court needs to intervene extensively.
It will generally include a parenting plan that has been ordered by the court. This parenting plan will spell out the details of custody, with nothing left for discussion. It will clearly state when and where drop-offs will take place, who will be able to make decisions in regard to the child’s education and medical care, and how any communication between parents will occur.
Usually, parents are only permitted to communicate with each other in writing. This will be ordered with the intent of minimizing conflict and ambiguity between parents, for the benefit of the child.
If you are struggling to successfully co-parent with the other parent of your child in the state of Minnesota, you may want to consider how parallel parenting might make the situation more stable.
