It’s a popular opinion that being a parent is the hardest job in the world. So what does that say about co-parenting…? Most people with children who have divorced or separated can attest the challenge that it truly is. It can take the complications to a whole new level. So we’re trying to make co-parenting a little less struggling for our readers here in San Bernardino County with a few tips. This article is brought to you by information shared from child psychologist Dr. Kate Roberts regarding how to manage a child’s use of technology as a divorced parent.
Joint custody is becoming more popular and often there is no “one parent” with primary custody. However, since parents often disagree this can clearly be a challenge. And now we add technology to the equation. In a semi-real way, when parents have different rules about technology use, kids can be switching from feeding their technology addiction to going through withdrawals when they switch households.
If you have different tech rules for your child than your ex does, here are a few tips:
- Accept the fact that you can’t control what happens at your ex’s house. It’s not your house and you don’t make the rules there, so stop trying.
- Focus on staying consistent under your own roof. If you stick to a policy, your kids will start to understand that that’s the way it is when they’re in your home.
- Expect your kids to pushback and struggle with your rules if they are stricter than your ex’s limits for the kids. They’ll want to get you to bend on your standards, but if you stay firm they’ll eventually accept it as fact.
- Don’t try to justify yourself, explain why your rules are right and why your ex’s are wrong. It’s not an argument worth having or one you’re guaranteed to win, so simply state that your rules are different than their mom/dad’s and leave it at that.
