High-conflict divorces can be harmful, damaging relationships between parents and making co-parenting after the process almost impossible. These cases can also cause emotional distress that can affect children, leaving them with behavioral or developmental issues. Parenting plans are vital in these situations. In these instances, the court can help parents create a plan to address conflict and minimize the child’s exposure to it, also known as parallel parenting.
What is parallel parenting?
This parenting style aims to help children develop meaningful connections with their parents while keeping conflicts at bay. To mitigate arguments and fighting, the parents can continue fulfilling their responsibilities while having little to no contact with one another.
The parent with the child will also be fully responsible for making decisions involving daily needs and activities. They may only need to contact the other parent during emergencies. Otherwise, their interactions would often be in writing with the assistance of a therapist or coordinator specializing in co-parenting. This setup can be ideal for keeping parents from fighting in front of their children, which can have grave long-term consequences.
Helping parents fulfill their duties to their child
In any high-conflict divorce, the child may receive the harshest blow. Seeing their parents have severe disagreements can be harmful, especially when they are still too young to comprehend what is happening entirely. Even if the parties are on bad terms, they still have the right to perform their parental responsibilities.
Parallel parenting can help them do so without exposing the child to conflicts. This structured arrangement can also help parents develop a functioning co-parenting relationship despite having distinct differences. With adequate assistance and legal guidance, they can craft an effective parallel parenting plan that addresses existing and future conflict-related issues.