Coparenting Advice. Here are some things that we as divorced parents should never do.
Being a divorced parent is, for me, the most challenging aspect of divorce. It has been tougher than I ever imagined to be a single parent. You can’t split up the parenting roles. There’s no one but you. You are either good cop or bad cop. Some days you just wonder what the hell you are doing.
My daughter calls me “Mean Mommy” because I make her do really horrible things like feed the cats, take out the garbage, wash her face. I even make her eat something green sometimes or make her bed. Yes, I am evil. I feel like I am usually the least favorite parent because I give her rules. I say “no”. It can be tough emotionally to always feels like the taskmaster. To know that you aren’t the favorite parent. You aren’t “the fun one”.
So it was truly divine intervention early this morning when I saw this article from a divorce website and blog I enjoy. It helped me so much, I had to share.
This is from divorce expert and family lawyer Christina Pesoli of the website Emotional Hardbody.
Here it is: Games Divorced Parents Should Never Play with Their Kids.
I hope that this article empowers you. After reading it, I feel stronger with my choices and my decisions. It takes incredible strength to not try and compete to be the “favorite” parent and instead doing what you know is best for your child’s long term health and well being. I might not be my daughter’s favorite. But maybe when she’s an adult she will look back and understand that I was a parent first and a “friend” second.
My goal for my daughter is that she grows up to be a well adjusted woman with high self esteem. If I can deliver her to adulthood with those life skills, I will have done my job. Even if I’m not the favorite parent, if I’ve set her off into the world a capable young woman, I can live with that.
Thank you for reading. If you found this blog helpful, I hope you’ll share with others who are going through divorce too.
And I wonder what is your divorced parenting experience?
Are you the favorite parent? Are you “mean mommy”?