If you’re a parent who’s starting divorce proceedings soon, you’re probably more than a little anxious about how to help your child handle the upcoming school year. Even for co-parents with an amicable relationship, navigating school responsibilities and events can be challenging – at least at first.
By committing to be civil to one another and to keep the focus on your child, you don’t have to become one of those divorced couples that everyone at school (including your child) dreads seeing show up. Let’s look at a couple of scenarios you’ll probably be dealing with.
Parent-teacher conferences
It’s typically best for co-parents to attend these together – either in person or via video chat. There’s less chance of miscommunication or misunderstandings. It’s also easier on the teachers who have limited time.
Whether you attend separately or together, it can be tempting to blame your ex for any of your child’s issues and take credit for their successes. It’s more important to understand what you need to do to help your child and work with your co-parent. If they’re not doing all they can, you may need to do more to make up for it. Co-parenting requires understanding that, for the most part, you can only control what happens in your home.
School events
Whether it’s a back-to-school night, concert, football game or dance that you’re both chaperoning, you don’t have to sit together or interact beyond exchanging pleasantries if it’s highly uncomfortable. However, it’s good to let your child know where you’ll each be so they can find you in the crowd.
It’s probably best not to bring along someone else unless it’s a significant other your child already knows and wants to be there. It’s also a good idea to give your co-parent a heads-up.
Make sure to give the school your new contact information if it’s changed. Let them know you need notifications sent to both of you if you’re sharing custody. This will help ensure that you don’t miss out on anything. There may be things pertaining to the school that you need to include in your parenting plan. This can help the school year go more smoothly for everyone.
