How Technology Can Help with Co-Parenting After Your Divorce

 Posted on November 29,2019 in Child Custody

After a divorce in DuPage County involving minor children, it can be difficult for the parents to adjust to co-parenting. This is particularly true when the parents had a very contentious divorce case or when the parents simply are struggling to get along. However, most parents in the Oakbrook Terrace area will end up sharing parenting time in some capacity. To be sure, under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA), Illinois courts presume that “both parents are fit” for parenting time, and typically the court will only restrict parenting time when there is a history of violence with one of the parents. Indeed, the court will only restrict parenting time if “it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a parent’s exercise of parenting time would seriously endanger the child’s physical, mental, moral, or emotional health.”

Given that restrictions on parenting time do not occur with most families in a divorce case, it is likely that parents will share parenting time, even if it is not a 50-50 split. This means that the parents will need to think carefully about co-parenting and how to communicate about their children even if they experienced a particularly contentious divorce. Believe it or not, technology—and online communication tools specifically—can help to make co-parenting easier. Some co-parenting apps may be able to help you transition into post-divorce life and co-parenting with your ex-spouse. We want to discuss some of those online tools and apps with you.

What Can Online Communication Tools Help Parents to Do?

There are a number of benefits to using online communication tools for co-parenting purposes. Rather than communicating in person or over the phone, online communication tools can make it easier for parents to share information about their children, and those tools can make those communications more convenient for both parents. In addition, when parents use online communications tools and apps, studies suggest that parents tend to communicate more frequently about their kids, and the quality of their communications actually improves.

Co-parenting is most effective when the parents are able to engage in regular communication with one another and to be open and honest about their children. When parents do not have to worry about making a stressful phone call to the other parent or engaging in face-to-face conversation, communication can become much less difficult.

Commonly Used Online Communication Tools and Apps

What online communication tools and apps can assist with co-parenting? The following is a list of tools and apps that parents should consider testing out:

• Coparently: Allows parents to communicate online, via mobile devices, to share calendars, to update contact information, to track the child’s medical and health information, and to track shared expenses concerning the child. It costs $99 per year or $9.99 per month. With this tool, children can also use it to communicate with both parents.
• Cozi: This is an online calendar program that allows parents to communicate about the child’s calendar. A major benefit is that it is free of cost.
• Talking Parents: This online communication tool allows parents to engage in regular communication with one another, but it also creates a record of those communications. This app can be particularly helpful for parents with a contentious relationship who need to keep track of their interactions with one another. It costs $4.99 per month.

Contact an Oakbrook Terrace Divorce Lawyer

Do you have questions about shared parenting time and co-parenting? Our skilled Oakbrook Terrace family law attorneys can help. The advocates at the Farooqi & Husain Law Office are dedicated to serving families in the DuPage County Muslim community, and we can speak with you today about your situation. Contact Farooqi & Husain Law Office online or call our office at 630-909-9114.

Sources:

https://www.verywellfamily.com/best-online-communication-tools-for-co-parents-4080729

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/two-takes-depression/201203/the-dos-and-donts-co-parenting-well