Many divorced parents agree that sharing custody with their ex is the hardest part of splitting up with young children. Instead of a clean break, the two of you have to see each other constantly and figure out ways to handle the difficulties involved with parenting that only increase when you spread responsibilities across two households.
A parenting app might seem like just another source of unnecessary stress or thing to learn about during a divorce. However, they are popular for a reason. Your family could easily benefit from using a parenting app for communication during a divorce and at least the first year afterward.
It helps you keep things in perspective
When you communicate on the phone, through email or via text message, it is very easy for the conversation to veer off-topic into the matter of your marriage. Using a new system and remembering that you have a new relationship as co-parents can help you avoid falling in to old communication habits and keep the focus on your kids.
It centralizes all the information that you need
Depending on the app that you agree to use, you may be able to import information about your parenting plan and custody arrangements. That way, there is one place where both of you can quickly reference your parenting schedule and other crucial information, including communication where you may have agreed to deviate from planned custody arrangements.
It gives you concrete evidence if your ex doesn’t fulfill their obligations
From canceling parenting times with no explanation to missing parent-teacher meetings, many things can go wrong when sharing custody. When all communication occurs through a parenting app, you will have written documentation that can make it much easier for you to show the courts a pattern of behavior and possibly ask for a modification in the future.
Using a parenting app won’t make shared custody easy, but it will make it easier than it would be if you just tried to handle it on your own. Your family law attorney can recommend one or more that would be helpful for you.