Parents who are in a difficult marriage might wonder whether their children will fare better if they stay married or if they divorce. While there isn’t any easy answer to this, it is possible that you can help your children adjust to the new way of life if your marriage ends.
Children whose parents keep everything stressful and contentious in the divorce and child custody matters put the children at risk of developing mental health issues. Instead, try to keep things respectful and always work on contentious matters away from the kids.
Never put the children in the middle of any matters. The goal right now is to make sure that they are secure and that they know they are safe. You can help them learn coping skills while empowering them to make their needs, thoughts and emotions known.
Another area in which parents sometimes need to work as a team is disciplining the kids. When they have consistent discipline and rules between the two homes, they often fare better. It might help for you and your ex to build some of this information into the parenting plan, so it’s written out for both adults to check when situations arise that require it.
You can also include other terms in the parenting plan, such as methods and ground rules for communication. The more detailed the parenting plan, the more likely it is going to serve the intended purpose. Just remember that you need to set things up based on what the kids need right now because you have the ability to seek a modification in the future if necessary.