The termination of a bond is incredibly painful, particularly when both of you have kids involved. Even though it could look difficult in the beginning, don’t worry; some methods of co-parenting exist, even if both of you are residing separately. Nowadays, this style has become very common after a couple’s separation or divorce. To practice this in your life, first, you need to understand the concept of co-parenting.

What is co-parenting?
It is also known as shared parenting. It is a way in which uncoupled parents persisting in raising their children jointly although they are divorced. They select ideal things for their children together instead of going court to get Guardianship rights. In this, both parents have the right to determine decisions about their children’s concerns and to spend equal time with their children.
Shared parenting can be an excellent option to fulfill children’s needs and parental responsibilities if a married couple doesn’t want to continue their marriage due to several reasons, like abusive behavior or addiction problems. As we know parental bond can deeply affect a child’s mental health. Thus, for co-parenting, uncoupled parents need to place their personal issues behind them. In that case, shared parenting can be easy and successful; otherwise, it can be harmful to a child’s mental health.
Using good co-parenting strategies can be helpful for both co-parents and children. You can make your children realize that they are important to you, even after your strongest conflict with your partner. As you are playing the role of a co-parent for your children’s cheerfulness and good future, you have.

Co-Parenting styles
Now, we have 4 most common co-parenting styles (basically these styles are agreements). Let’s take an eagle-eye view of these styles.
Cooperative Co-Parenting
What do you think cooperative co-parenting is? It is an agreement in which both parents share responsibilities equally and consistently communicate about their child’s better nurturing. They make sure that they are providing their child with psychological support, like love, affection, and safety, which are important for a human. In this shared parenting style, both parents spend equal time with their child. They share their child’s progress report with each other and make wise and required decisions for their child’s better future. This style provides the secure and reliable environment to a child to upraise properly. In other words, this style leads high self-confidence and great mental health. Over all, we can say it is the most effective style of shared parenting.
Parallel Co-Parenting
What do you think about parallel co-parenting? It is an agreement in which each co-parent designs their own methods to rear the child. Both co-parents don’t communicate regularly and do not share information or progress reports about their child. They make decisions regarding their child’s matters separately, which can be problematic and may cause inconsistency in the child’s life. This can even affect the child’s mental health. This style is dynamic and can easily change over time.

High-conflict Co-Parenting
As you might guess from its title, if you already understand the concept of this shared parenting style, that’s great. If not, don’t worry. We are about to discuss high-conflict co-parenting style. In this agreement, co-parents don’t support and cooperate with each other. They are always ready to argue with each other. They have many misunderstandings and a lack of communication. Both co-parents have distinguished goals and plan. They remain stuck in their conflicts and never focus on their child’s matters.
This is the harmful style for children and can enhance the chances of behavioral challenges and mental health problems like stress, anxiety, and depression in children. Even this parental behavior makes a child Alcoholic.
Narcissistic Co-Parenting
Narcissistic co-parenting is a highly challenging and harmful arrangement for one co-parent and the children due to the behavior of the other co-parent. In this dynamic, one co-parent is uncooperative and unsupportive. Narcissistic co-parents often emotionally abuse their ex-partners and act toxically, even treating their children in the same way. They always put themselves and their vanity first, never paying attention to their children’s needs.
Absolutely, this is not an effective style for shared parenting. Parents need to place aside their ego for the sake of their children.

Tips for Beneficial co-parenting
- Make your children a priority
Eternally, it is difficult to face a person you don’t like, but all of us have to do such things we don’t want to do. Facing your ex-partner can be annoying for you, but you have to do it for the sake of your children. Put your little ones first and don’t care about your feelings for your ex-partner.
- Learn the techniques of clear communication
Communication is crucial in every field of life. It has the strength to make things perfect or worse. Therefore, everyone should practice effective communication. In co-parenting, it is essential to communicate effectively for your child’s better life. Effective communication helps to manage a child’s matters easily, such as daily routines, school activities, and progress.
- Optimize time spent with your child
The connection between children and a parent is the most beautiful connection in the world. A true parent never forgets their children, even if they don’t like their ex-partner. After a divorce, when both parents have limited and narrow timeframes to spend with their children, it becomes crucial to make the most of it. In co-parenting, a child spends part of the week with one parent and the rest with the other. In this situation, both co-parents need to arrange their activities so that they can spend maximum time with their child.
- Prepare for time without your child
When it is your turn to spend time with your child that is the good part, but what about the time when you have to spend time without your child? In this case, a co-parent needs to prepare themselves to be patient. One thing that can help in this situation is to stay busy with other tasks or activities in life

- Stay ready for change
After a divorce, things are going to change completely, affecting the lives of both children and parents. In this case, both co-parents need to be prepared for these changes and plan for a better life and future for their children.