On behalf of Cooper & Tanis, P.C. posted in divorce on Wednesday, June 8, 2016.

Colorado parents who divorce should keep in mind that even though their marriage is ending, they will go on being co-parents for years. Attempting to maintain an amicable co-parenting relationship can be important to helping children adjust to the divorce. There are several questions parents can ask themselves as they work on learning to cooperate with one another on parenting issues.

Parents should think about the age of their children and how many more years they have of working together on raising them. This includes considering holidays and extracurricular events. When parents remain hostile to one another, these occasions may be damaging for their children.

Parents should also consider how they handled hostile feelings toward one another while they were still married. They should think about whether they showed those emotions in front of the children, and if not, how they can continue to protect children from that behavior after the divorce. Parents might ask themselves what kind of relationship they should maintain that will be best for their children. It is possible to curb the patterns of arguing that they have fallen into as a couple and learn new ways of negotiating regarding parenting issues that will make their children’s lives after the divorce less difficult.

One of the major points of conflict in a divorce is child custody. Parents may struggle with the idea of spending less time with their children. However, many experts feel that children benefit from time with both parents. Parents might be happier with a parenting plan that they work out together through negotiation rather than one that is imposed by a judge. Although a judge attempts to make a decision that is in the child’s best interests, parents often have a better idea about what is right for their child and their family.