Tips to Make Joint Custody Work

Kate Bayless’s “9 Rules to Make Joint Child Custody Work”

Kate Bayless’s article consults work from renowned clinical psychologists and researchers of the joint child custody dilemma. Admitting outright the frustrations of having to deal with your recently established ex-spouse, Bayless gives 9 boundaries that should not be crossed, no matter how upset you or your ex-spouse may become, for your sanity and the well-being of the children involved.

Bayless’s list starts with the manner in which you speak of your ex-husband or ex-wife in the presence of your children, moving on finally to the manners in which you communicate to each other and arrange plans. Perhaps one of Bayless’s more interesting observations regards badmouthing your ex-spouse in front of your child: she asserts that children will not internalize this as a negative attribute held in their parents, but one held in them, and they are made up of both parents. In insulting your ex-spouse, according to Bayless, you are in considerable ways insulting your child.

For the full article, visit Parents here.