Parenting Together as a Team
Relationship Boosters Podcast Episode 7
Successfully navigate the world of parenting together.
How to successfully co-parent with your partner
- Conversations about parenting should begin when a couple is in the early, but serious stages, of their relationship.
- Talk about what you and your spouse want parenting to look like.
- What type of discipline style do you want to use?
- What are the family values for you and your partner?
- Will you have closed doors or open doors in the house?
- Dig deep. You and your partner should speak about the kind of parents you had. Family origin issues are important.
- Share your upbringing with each other.
- Did you feel like the parenting style that your parents used worked?
- What did you like and what didn't you like about your upbringing? Why?
- Strategies
- When parents have strong parenting disagreements that are not discussed, it may cause confusion for the child.
- Be a unified front. It can be problematic if one parent is not supporting the other parent, or if the child recognizes that they are not on the same page.
- Establish a system that works for your family.
- Create structure for the family. Make life more predictable.
- What are the family needs?
- What are the needs of the individuals in your family?
- Come up with a schedule for the family.
- Use strengths as a deciding factor for dividing responsibilities. Dividing responsibilities is not always split 50/50, and taking turns may not be realistic.
- If you are good at homework, and your partner is good at cooking, then you may be doing the majority of the homework, and your partner may be doing the majority of the cooking.
- Be playful and use humor.
- There is no perfect parent. Just do the best that you possibly can!
The best time to begin discussions about developing a parenting style is prior to having children, and this should be revisited over time.
Having discussions about parenting is extremely important. In many relationships, these discussions never occur. The failure to address parental differences can ultimately lead to serious problems in your relationship. If you recognize that you have not had this discussion, and you're in a serious relationship, this is the time to begin having conversations about parenting.
Remember, it's never too late to have these important discussions, and ongoing discussions about parenting is essential.
You can work find out more about Bynia Reed through her website: www.centeredsupport.com
The resources she provided are as follows:
The Conscious Parent
Parenting the Strong-Willed Child
