All I REALLY need to know I learned in Kindergarten

(By Robert Fulghum, 1988)

As a Co-parenting Counselor, in Birmingham, AL, I help coparents find better ways to communicate.  I want them redesign their old marriage relationship into more of a business relationship.  As I do this work, I have come to realize something.  Many coparents seem to believe that divorce puts them in a different category of what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior.  They get to write the rules they are teaching their children to follow and now have permission to act in a way that feels good for them- no matter the consequence.  My problem with this way of thinking is that we try to teach our children from a very early age that there are rules to obey.  Rules in life that will make you happy.  I love Robert Fulghum rules called “Everything I really need to know I learned in kindergarten”.  I have applied these essential rules to a co-parenting relationship.

❖ Share Everything

Divorce puts us against each other.  The divorce process is essentially set up to protect yourself, your assets, and your relationship with your children.  In that process, coparents often lose their way about what “sharing” means.  Of course, it would not be wise in a divorce to share everything.  That would be confusing and chaotic.  However, this is a rule we try to teach our children but seem to think it doesn’t apply in divorce.  My hope is that coparents can compromise.  Give and take as they move through the process for the sake of themselves and their children.  Digging your heels in with rigid black and white thinking about what you think you are owed or deserve will cost you a lot of money (think attorney fees) and loss of peace. It also promotes a double standard to our kids (hint: the WHOLE point of this blog).

❖ Play Fair

We teach our kids early when playing Candyland, there are rules.  You can’t just jump to the top of the Candy Castle and win the game.  You have to play by the rules.  Often coparents think it is OK to break the “rules of decency” when going through a divorce.  For example, a common practice I am seeing now is recording conversations without the consent of the other coparent just so they have a record for the court.  When we don’t play by the rules and say “mean” things about our coparent to our kids, this is confusing to children.  And when we say mean things about the other coparent, you are essentially putting 50% of your child down. What good parent wants to do that?

❖ Don’t hit people

Doesn’t this go without saying?  Of course!  But we may not use our fists to hit, we use our words or our body language to show the contempt we feel for our co-parent.  90% of our communication is our body language.  If we show disrespect to our coparents by rolling our eyes, mocking them, or using sarcasm we are showing our children how to disrespect the other parent.  This may feel good in the moment, but it will come to bite you in the butt when you need your coparents influence over your child or their help in guiding your child through life.  For example, your daughter may be 5 years old now, but when she is 16 and dating a guy, I believe, it is important to have both parents (especially fathers) involved in the process of dating.  

❖ Put things back where you found them

Like your past relationship, keep the past in the past as you move through your coparenting.  Bringing up your relationship wounds with your coparent over and over again does not help you move into the future.  Those wounds need to be worked out (for sure!) but not with your coparent.  They need to be worked out with your therapist or trusted friends.  

❖ Clean up your own mess.

The last rule is a nice connection to this rule.  Basically, clean up your junk.  In other words, clean up your part in the relationship so you don’t take it into the next relationship.  Start being honest with yourself about what your part is and how you were part of the breakdown of the marriage.  Do your work.  Period.  Take time to figure out who you are without your former spouse.  Grieve.  Be mad.  Heal. Then take time to find your own passion and what makes you tick before you go out on your first date.

❖ Don’t take things that aren’t yours

It is easy to get greedy and selfish during the divorce process and after.  We can get greedy with material possessions, our kid’s time, or our kid’s affection.  Don’t be greedy.  Allow your children to love both of you.  Give them the freedom to love both of you and to have a relationship with both of you.  That is a gift.  Sometimes it can be difficult to give to your coparent and it can become a competition, but holding your tongue and not saying critical things to your children about your former spouse is a gift that they will enjoy for a lifetime.  

Sara Hadgraft, the owner of Sparrow Counseling, is an M.Ed, LMFT, LPC, NCC, Certified Parenting Coordinator, Divorce and Family Mediator (Domestic Violence Trained) and has a private practice called Sparrow Counseling in Birmingham, AL.  She specializes in Parenting Coordination, Co-Parenting Counseling, and Divorce and Family Mediation.  Her passion is helping parents learn how to become successful coparents, so their children can thrive after their divorce.  Contact Sparrow Counseling if you are interested in getting help at hello@sparrowcounsel.com.