Divorced parents in Georgia might feel like the pressure to communicate and coordinate activities for their children eases with the arrival of the teenage years. Growing independence among the children, especially if they are driving, could cause parents to drift into ineffective parenting behaviors like relying on teens to relay messages to the other co-parent. They might also assume that the other parent knows what their kids are doing.
Parents sometimes make the mistake of thinking that their teenage children are communicating the same information to both parents. In reality, co-parents need to maintain regular communication about problems or other issues that their children are experiencing. As teens become increasingly mobile and independent in their own lives, parents still need to confirm whether their teens are actually with the other parent when they are supposed to be. Teens could easily take advantage of inattentive parents and drift into undesirable behaviors without consistent oversight.
Both parents need to take an active interest in their teens’ lives. They should get to know their teens’ friends so that parental guidance and support will remain a steady influence as their children build relationships with their peers.
The foundation of successful co-parenting begins with a plan that the parents develop during the divorce process. Someone who needs advice about child custody, child support and other parenting issues could reach out to a family law attorney for advice. With legal support, a parent might successfully navigate important decisions about custody schedules. An attorney could also guide the client toward compromises about issues like where the kids will go to school, who has the kids for which holidays and how to set up consistent parenting rules across both households.