Not everyone is fortunate to have a partner to raise their kids with and it takes a special set of skills to co-parent with your parents or former partner. We give you tips shared by mothers who have co-parented with their parents.
Natalie Altieri from Parenting and Joelle Barron from Romper have shared their own accounts on how they faced the challenge of raising their kids with their own parents. Natalie's husband passed away four months after she delivered their baby boy.
Joelle on the other hand was left to raise her daughter alone without a partner. Both mothers took to their own mothers for child support. While this may be sound promising, things could get complicated as mother-daughter relationships usually go.
Posted by Adventures in Co-Parenting on Tuesday, March 8, 2016
From their own personal accounts, here are some tips that you may find helpful when you co-parent with your parents. Some of them may also hold true when you're faced to co-parent with your ex as well.
1. Develop a Routine
Natalie and Joelle both had to work after giving birth. It is important to establish a routine so you and your co-parent can maximize the time. It takes a lot of compromise on both parties to come up with a working schedule. In the long run, it will save you both a lot of time and money if you make it work out.
2. Remember to Appreciate Your Mom
In the otherwise busy schedule between work and you baby, sometimes you forget the little things your co-parent has sacrificed for you. Remember to appreciate the little things your Mom did for you and for your baby; the times she had to get up in the wee hours just to take care of your baby and the times she had to put off the hobbies she wanted to do.
3. Assert Yourself as the Parent
This may be quite difficult since it may come as a criticism of your co-parent's own parenting skills. But it has to be your decision that should be followed in the end. Of course, you may want to listen first to your mother's reasoning and gently establish your own reason to reach a compromise. Proper communication is the essential to make this work.
4. Learn to Compromise
While your co-parent may come as lenient and you as strict, it is important to compromise values to have a successful working relationship. Always remember to listen to your co-parent's side before making the final decision. There are things that your mom knows best.
5. Your Mom is a Grandma Too
You have to realize though that your mom took the responsibility without asking for anything in return. They are the best babysitters in the world. Giving your mom some break and let her enjoy simply being a "Grandma".
Bonus tip: This is how co-parenting looks like in a child's perspective
