This week, Beaufort Jasper Health Comprehensive led us in a parent group meeting called “The Pathway to Co-Parenting”. There are two kinds of co-parents: the “fantastic co-parent” and the “craptastic co-parent”. The fantastic co-parent compromises, includes the other parent in decisions and schedules, and ultimately respects the other parent. The craptastic co-parent does things like remove visitation and doesn’t include the other parent in activities. All parents should strive to be the fantastic co-parent. A few tips for co-parenting include the following:

- Avoid confrontation. Always be calm in front of the children and establish a business-like approach to parenting.
- Be consistent and present a united front in front of the kids.
- Be flexible. Go with the flow and compromise to keep the peace.
We also went over some DO’s and DON’Ts.
DO
- Avoid conflict
- Be direct and honest
- Make requests, not demands
DON’Ts
- Bring up old wounds
- Bring up personal problems
- Focus on hot topic buttons
Finally, we watched a YouTube video from Joel Leon’s TED talk called “The beautiful, hard work of co-parenting.” View the video online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEr-Lcue5P4. Leon focused on the importance of creating balance for everyone involved and realizing that sacrifice doesn’t rest on one parent alone.
Our next Group Connection is July 21st – “Yoga for Families”.