The best situation for children is when their parents work together. Good co-parenting can make a huge difference, but it is not without its challenges.
Things can get especially tricky when your child reaches the teen years. According to the Academy of Professional Family Mediators, co-parenting teens requires a renewed team effort.
Allow them to have freedom
You and your co-parent should get together on the rules and guidelines for your teen because they will change at this age. Teens are exploring who they are and testing boundaries. While you will still want to have rules, you should let them have some freedom. They may have later curfews and be able to hang out with friends more often. Decide together so you have a united front when it comes to the rules.
Understand the demands
Teens are often much busier than they were as younger children. You and your co-parent should make a point of creating a family schedule so you can easily monitor your teen’s schedule. You should both understand that due to your teen’s schedule, he or she may not spend as much time with you. You may want to make adjustments to your parenting time to account for the limited time your child may have and allow for both of you to have some face time with your child.
Open lines of communication
Communication between you and your teen and you and the other parent becomes even more important as they get older. It is essential to have clear means of communication and to keep it flowing. You and your co-parent may want to check in with each other regularly so you can stay on top of what is happening with your child.
Coparenting a teen is a whole new world. Teens have different needs than younger children, so your parenting has to adjust.