After going through a divorce, you will need to figure out how you will continue to raise your child and be present in their life together with your co-parent. Of course, the idea of cooperating and collaborating closely on the heels of a divorce may seem like a distant dream.
Instead, you can focus on working toward more cooperative forms of co-parenting together through things like parallel parenting plans.
Limiting communication
Psychology Today discusses parallel parenting as an option for those seeking a divorce. A parallel parenting plan works by minimizing the contact between you and your co-parent, which in turn minimizes the potential for conflict and disputes. You can only communicate through written text, such as emails or letters. You can also completely avoid conversations by writing pertinent information in a notebook and passing it along with your child, instead of talking directly.
Graduating to the next step
However, parallel parenting is a stepping stone after divorce. It is not meant to be a permanent structure for co-parenting. Instead, you should eventually move to more cooperative and interactive forms of co-parenting. The judge overseeing your case will determine when it is time for you to move on. They periodically review your arrangement, and they may decide to keep it as-is for the time being or to make small adjustments.
Based on where they deem you to be, they will eventually decide when you can move on to another type of parenting. However, there is no strict timeline for this progress, which means you can move at the pace that suits your family situation best.