No matter what caused your divorce, it is likely that there are some hard feelings on both sides of it. In the majority of cases, parents are able to work together for the good of their children despite any lingering animosity on either side.
However, this is not possible in all cases. It may be that your ex-spouse suffers from narcissistic personality disorder or something similar. It may be that the betrayal which caused the divorce, in your case, is too raw and too difficult for you to deal with. In this situation, parallel parenting may be the best choice for your family moving forward.
What is parallel parenting?
The goal of parallel parenting is to allow the child unquestioned equal access to both parents. However, unlike a traditional co-parenting arrangement, parallel parenting separates the parents as much as possible from each other throughout this process.
For example, in a co-parenting arrangement, both parents may show up to a child’s sporting event to show support. In the case of a parallel parenting arrangement, only one parent would attend the event. The other parent may show support by attending the post-game pizza party. It may also be the case that the child has one parent in charge of everything having to do with sports, and the other parent is in charge of religious education or art activities.
Does parallel parenting last forever?
In certain circumstances, it may benefit everybody if the parallel parenting arrangement lasts forever. In other situations, it is possible that the hard feelings between parents will lessen with time. In this case, it is possible that successful parallel parenting may transition into a more relaxed co-parenting arrangement if this suits all parties.
