Supportive Co-Parenting

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How parents negotiate their childrearing beliefs and their day-to-day shared parenting responsibilities is called co-parenting. Unsupportive co-parenting results in stressed marriages and children who don’t feel good about themselves and who sometimes can’t get along with others. In families where the parents are divorced, unsupportive co-parenting can further weaken the relationships between parents and children.

However, when mothers and fathers can agree on parenting decisions, the positive benefits of co-parenting are seen. Parenting decisions can be as routine as agreeing on a set bedtime, to the more philosophical aspects of parenting. Children experience supportive co-parenting when they receive the same message from both parents and when they observe their parents supporting each other’s efforts.

Supportive co-parenting is important for a child’s well-being. Children need to experience a strong and cooperative relationship between their parents. Mothers and fathers who agree on most parenting issues and who support each other’s efforts create an environment that allows children to grow and thrive. This type of atmosphere gives children the opportunity to focus on what matters to them, such as school, their friends and activities—not their parents’ disagreements.

Source: University of Missouri Extension 
GH 6129 "Parenting: Success Requires a Team Effort"

Diana Milne, MilneD@missouri.edu
Regional Specialist, Human Development
Clay County, Missouri
University of Missouri Extension