Not all divorces have to be battles to see who can be the meanest party. Instead, it is possible to have a friendly divorce. If you and your ex have children together, this type of divorce might be the key to having a good relationship for raising the children as a team.
While you might not be able to take all of the negatives out of the end of the marriage, there is a good chance that you can take steps that will make the difficult situation a little easier for everyone involved. Even though you can’t control your ex, your actions might set the tone for things.
If you have children, you and your ex need to present a united front before them. Not only does this provide them with the consistency and stability that can help them, it also reduces that chance that they will try to play one parent against the other. Some children use the divorce as a way to try to get one parent to agree to something that the other parent has already forbidden. Working together to set boundaries as they try this can help to reduce the stress for everyone involved.
You have to make sure that you are taking care of yourself. You are more likely to be cranky if you are hungry, tired or don’t feel well. By making sure that you are in the best shape possible, you might take a lot of the negativity out of your situation. This can make you easier to deal with and make you less likely to become upset about small matters.
Try to keep divorce matters away from your home. Don’t let your ex bring contentious matters to you anywhere other than official proceedings like mediation sessions or trials. This enables you to keep your home as your safe haven.
Source: Our Family Wizard, “3 Tips for Achieving a Friendly Divorce,” accessed June 08, 2018
