Are Co-Parenting Courses Worth It?

If you have a child and you and your spouse decide to divorce or separate, you’ll likely soon become familiar with the term “co-parenting.”

Successfully parenting a child requires you and the other parent to communicate effectively, resolve conflicts constructively, and put your child’s needs above your own. This becomes even more important when you and the other parent divorce or separate and no longer live under the same roof.

Unfortunately, a divorce or separation will exacerbate any existing problems in your and the other parent’s ability to communicate effectively. If you experience issues with co-parenting that begin to affect your ability to provide for your child’s needs, the court may suggest you and the other parent take a co-parenting class.

Co-Parenting Classes Teach Useful Skills

You might think that no class can fully understand the dynamics of your relationship with the other parent. After all, many co-parenting classes last only a few weeks, and there simply isn’t enough time for the facilitator of the class to learn about the dynamics of your relationship with the other parent.

Co-parenting courses aren’t therapy and don’t address deep-seated issues with which either parent may be struggling. But co-parenting courses teach you and the other parent important skills that can make the co-parenting process easier, including the following.

Communication Skills

One of the greatest benefits of a co-parenting class is learning how to communicate better about your child.

Communicating effectively means more than just not yelling at one another or talking more frequently. It involves sharing difficult information in a constructive manner.

Without communication skills, you and the other parent may struggle to feel heard or understood by one another in conversation. If these feelings persist, you may become reluctant to talk with the other parent at all.

Conflict Resolution Skills

Not only can a co-parenting course help you better express yourself, your opinions, and your concerns to the other parent, but it can also improve your conflict resolution skills.

When raising a child, it’s generally not in their best interests for one parent to win every argument and the other to lose. This can impact the child’s perception of one or both parents and create unrealistic expectations regarding communication and control.

Instead, learning to reach compromises with the other parent will often serve your child’s needs best and help keep lines of communication open with the other parent.

Not everyone knows how important it is to compromise, much less how to reach a compromise. Co-parenting coursework can help you acquire this valuable skill.

Putting Your Child First

You may have legitimate hurt and anger toward the other parent. But a co-parenting course can help you see that your child’s welfare and well-being take priority.

This doesn’t mean you must forget how the other parent may have wronged you. It just means being able to address important child custody and care issues with them in spite of any hard feelings you may have.

Learning to Co-Parent Helps You and Your Child

Although you and the other parent are the ones learning the skills from a co-parenting course, your child will ultimately benefit from your joint efforts. Taking a co-parenting class will help the two of you work together better when it comes to raising your child.

A co-parenting course may be a requirement in Florida as part of your divorce or child custody order. However, if you approach these courses as less of an obligation and more as an opportunity to grow, they can provide benefits far beyond simply fulfilling a court-mandated requirement.

Contact Our Orlando Child Custody Lawyers At McMichen, Cinami & Demps For More Help

Contact the experienced Orlando child custody lawyers at McMichen, Cinami & Demps today for legal assistance. Contact our Orlando, FL office at (407) 898-2161 to schedule a free consultation.

McMichen, Cinami & Demps – Orlando Office
1500 E Concord St
Orlando, FL 32803