With any major life changes, there will be periods chaos and disorganization. Thankfully, in this digital age, a mobile phone is all you need to make sure your custody schedule is consistent and a cordial connection with your former spouse stays intact.
Working out your new relationship with your ex as a co-parent can be stressful. But creating a communication strategy that works for the both of you will help keep your kids on time for every activity and keep you sane all at the same time. There is a plethora of apps that you can use to collaborate on scheduling, monitor your children and communicate concerns.
Online calendar
Basically, any adult on the go or parent of at least one child knows how useful it is to have a shared calendar. One tool that requires minimal setup is Google Calendar. You don’t even have to have a Gmail address to use it.
Having the option to access and update it through the web version on your computer creates ease when entering several upcoming activities. On the other hand, the mobile app allows you to receive timely push notifications for upcoming vacations, appointments, birthdays and more. And a perk of having a Gmail account, means events referenced in emails will automatically sync onto the calendar.
Keeping an online calendar both makes collaboration easy and provides more security than a paper planner.
Child supervision
Even if you have the utmost respect for your ex-spouse, setting rules for your children is still a typical conflict area for parents — divorced and non-divorced couples alike. In this day in age, as access to technology continually increases, controlling your child’s screen time and internet habits also becomes a rising concern.
Fortunately, there is an app that helps parents supervise their children’s mobile device activity. It’s called Qustodio. You and your co-parent can use Qustodio to track your child’s screen time and set limits. There is also a feature to scan your child’s search history on certain websites, and you can block potentially harmful content.
Virtual mediation
As parents, you want to do what’s best for your children. Most of the time this starts with creating a solid foundation. This is a challenging feat under one roof, so it’s perfectly normal to lean on aid from a neutral party.
An app called coParenter, utilizes an artificial intelligence (AI) chat feature to help resolve non-legal disputes in real time. If the parenting issue requires further assistance, the app can set you up with a live, professional mediator. Either option, doesn’t force you to meet in-person with your ex and offers neutral input. In addition to the mediation aspect, you can also use coParenter for messaging and financial tracking.
Sometimes all the virtual assistance in the world can still lead to conflict with your ex-spouse. Maybe your ex consistently goes against the custody schedule to take family trips or isn’t paying child support. Whatever the case may be, you can seek legal assistance when times get tough.
