Back to school season is in full effect and many children will be split between two homes because of the nature of their parent’s relationship. Many parents share the responsibility for raising a child and agree to co-parent when a romantic relationship doesn’t seem to be the right move for their lives, but when school starts up demands begin to flood and schedules can become demanding.
Adding junior’s basketball practice and baby girl’s cheerleading meetups to an over demanding work schedule can sometimes pose an issue for co-parenting adults who are seeking to make things easy for themselves and their children, but there are solutions to this issue. Chicago-based clinical sexologist and sex therapist Dr. TaMara Griffin has a few tips on how parents can create synergy in co-parenting during this back to school season.
It’s important for parents to share childcare responsibilities equally, and to do so, clear communication is necessary to run smoothly from day to day. “Have the conversation prior to the beginning of school to agree on your roles and responsibilities when it comes to working with your child’s teacher(s),” Dr. Griffin says.
“For example, who will be the point of contact, who will pick the child up from school, etc. Resolving these concerns on the front end helps to minimize confusion on the back end.”