In the heat of a divorce, sometimes the impulse is to move through the process as quickly as possible, check all the boxes and be done. But when children are involved, you’re never done. Especially for families navigating divorce and co-parenting in Denver, Colorado.
In the State of Colorado, a parenting plan covers who will make the major life decisions for your children in the areas of health, education, extra-curricular activities and religion. It addresses parenting time and what will happen on the holidays. It addresses how you’ll split the ever-increasing costs of raising a child. It has a formula for child support. It pretty much covers the basics. But in mediation we cover much more than the basics. We try to anticipate issues that might arise. Playing the “what if” game at the onset will give you the best chance for a positive parenting relationship in the future. If you’re looking for a supportive and experienced divorce mediation team, Divorce Solutions in Denver can help guide you toward healthy resolutions for your family.
Here are a few things to consider as you approach your parenting plan in Denver, CO:
Are Your Kids in School? (Co-Parenting in Denver Colorado)
A lot of parents split while their kids are still babies, blissful and content to be with either parent, anywhere. Relatively speaking, babies can be passed between parents at the parents’ convenience with little stress. That changes significantly as they develop, seek more stability, and begin to operate within a school schedule.
As you approach your parenting plan, you should do so with the understanding that your child’s needs won’t be the same in six months or six years, and that the ultimate goal is their health, safety, and stability at every stage. When it comes to good co-parenting in Denver, the key word is “flexibility”.
For more detailed guidance on creating a parenting plan that fits your family’s needs, visit our page on Parenting Plans in Denver, CO.
The Best Parenting Schedule for Co-Parents in Denver
In our experience, the best parenting schedule is the one that works best for the kids. There are plenty of options, whether it’s week on week off, 5/2/2/5 (five days on, two days off, two days on, five days off) or 3/4/4/3 (three days on, four days off, four days on, three days off) or a nesting schedule that keeps kids in the family home and the parents make the moves.
What’s important to keep in mind is that each time our kids are handed off, there’s an adjustment period from a few hours to more than a day, where they have to recalibrate to their room, their belongings, the parent in charge, the food in the fridge, the route to school, etc. It may take a bit of trial and error to find the ‘sweet spot’. Great co-parents in Denver leave room for learning and adjusting as they go.
Off-Schedule Opportunities for Co-Parents in Colorado
It’s going to happen. One parent has a family reunion, a special holiday, a horizon-expanding trip or a big occasion that they’d like the kids to join, but the dates fall under the other parent’s time… Or perhaps a big opportunity arises for a parent during their scheduled parenting time. Great co-parents in Denver, Colorado want their kids to take advantage of every opportunity that comes their way. They also want to continue to grow and evolve individually. While we can’t plan for every schedule-disrupting moment that will arise over the next many years, we can preemptively establish some guidelines for how these opportunities will be addressed and evaluated. For example, we can decide what constitutes a fair request for a schedule change, how much advance notice is expected/required, and whether the co-parents expect a fair trade of time, or simply to increase/decrease the time of the proposed event without further disrupting the schedule.
Dating and New Partners After Divorce in Denver
As couples move on and heal from divorce in Denver, Colorado, inevitably, new romantic partners will enter the scene. This can be emotionally triggering for many reasons, and when we’re not prepared, it can lead to attitudes and behaviors that ultimately harm the kids.
To be great co-parents, it’s ideal to agree on a set of rule