I posted awhile back about my top book choices about divorce for kids. Today I wanted to share some of my favorite books about co-parenting. Divorce is tough on everyone involved. It’s not something most people experience over and over again, so all the learning is done on the job, so to speak. When I was going through my own divorce, I turned to my friends who had been divorced for help. But I also checked out a stack of books from the library to help me figure things out. Some of those books were great, some were terrible, and some were just okay. To spare you from wasting time reading the terrible books, I figured I’d share some good ones here, so you know where to start. There are a million books about divorce, but I decided to narrow in on books dealing specifically with co-parenting. Here are my recommendations:
Divorce Poison – This book is everything you would expect based on the title. It helps parents learn how to protect themselves from bad-mouthing by the other parent and also from becoming the one who is doing the bad-mouthing. I got this book because I wanted to make sure that I didn’t fall into the trap of turning my daughter against my ex. The Co-Parents’ Handbook – This book came highly recommended to me by a friend, so I decided to give it a shot. It walks you through the process of creating a co-parenting strategy, step-by-step, with real life best practices. Parenting Apart – The whole focus of this book is on creating a co-parenting strategy that helps kids thrive and not just get by. It has a whole section that covers how divorce affects kids and it’s nicely segmented into age groups, which really helps! It also covers moving on after divorce, from dating again to getting remarried. Putting Children First – This book is all about teaching parents to help their kids cope with all the emotion and changes that happen during a divorce. It really focuses on the emotional aspect as it relates to kids… what they will feel, how to understand what they’re feeling, and how to help them work through difficult feelings. Mom’s House, Dad’s House – This book focuses on negotiating parental agreements and custody battles. It also helps parents create a written set of “rules” that will guide them through becoming a two-home family. One of my favorite aspects of this book is the suggestion for vocabulary changes. For instance, saying “living with” instead of “visiting”. This book has a companion meant for kids too and it’s just as good. What are your favorite co-parenting books?