Co-parenting is not easy! If it was easy, you would not see social media posts and blogs that outline the ongoing problems. If co-parenting was easy, there would be substantially less litigation and requests for the Court to micromanage aspects of children’s lives.
We believe strongly that written communication can cause conflict. We believe there are ways to make small changes to written communication that change the tone. By changing the tone of communication, we believe that conflict can be reduced.
The easiest way to understand the way tone can change communication is to review examples:
Example One:
“I want to be able to attend medical appointments. Next time, tell me so I can arrange to attend.”
VERSUS
“I want to be able to attend medical appointments. Please let me know about future appointment, so I can arrange to attend.”
Example Two:
“The school called me to pick up the child. The school and the child told me that you sent him to school sick. Great job! Glad to see you put our child first!”
VERSUS
“I picked up our child from school. Was he sick this morning?”
In the examples, the wording of the second version is less aggressive and accusatory. Changing a couple of simple words can mean all the difference. The first example points a finger whereas the second version is just a reminder.