Few Kentucky parents would disagree that the teenage years are some of the hardest. Trying to find the way in a world in between being a child and an adult presents some challenges for the child, let alone the parents. Even united parents in a single household could have issues raising a teen. It is not hard to imagine that doing so as a co-parent adds another layer of strategy on the part of the parents.
Creating a parenting plan that keeps parents united during their child’s teen years is essential for divorced parenting. Teenagers are notoriously secretive, antagonistic and moody. This is the time in their lives when they challenge their parents and try to find their own way in the world. In addition, they can become masters of manipulation, especially when their parents are no longer under the same roof.
For these and other reasons, parents facing this situation may want to coordinate their efforts as much as possible, especially when joint custody means approximately equal time. Making rules regarding homework, household chores, social media, gaming, texting and phone calls, and other digital distractions that are consistent in both households could help. Dealing with other issues such as time with friends and leaving the house in general in a similar manner helps keep the teen from playing one parent against the other.
Being a co-parent in this stage in a child’s life surely has its challenges, but a Kentucky couple can work together to make it as pleasant, smooth and less contentious experience. It may be possible that divorcing parents actually have an advantage over other parents because they have the opportunity to sit down and outline how they will continue to work together for the good of their child. They establish rules, ways to handle certain situations and more, which most married parents do not do. Embracing this new reality could end up being a good thing.