Important information to share with your coparent

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Staying informed of the children’s progress means knowing the most current information about the children and being able to respond to the children in the most appropriate way.

Medical history and medical needs

Being informed of the children’s medical history and medication is critical to ensure that children remain safe and continue to receive all necessary medical care and attention.

Educational history

Neither parent should solely be the “recreational parent”. Both parents need to be informed of the children’s school work and help with homework, reading, and other tasks.

This support can help children progress, learn, and develop within the academic setting.

Child’s likes and dislikes

Children are not stagnant. They grow, develop, and change rapidly. Parents need to be aware of these changes to respond appropriately to their children.

By being attuned to their children, parents show their children that they are valued and important.

Routine

Developing a regular, consistent, and predictable routine for the children decreases transition problems between the homes.

Parents should be informed of bedtime routines, morning routines, mealtimes, homework times, frequency and duration of television viewing, books the children like to read before bed, and all other routines while in both parents’ homes.

This helps to ensure that parents provide children with needed consistency.

Extra-curricular activities

The children may be involved in sports, art classes, music lesions, etc. Both parents should be aware of these events and support the children in these activities.

Peers

Knowing the children’s peers and being involved in the children’s social life is important for fostering parent-child relationships and to demonstrate to children that their parents are both interested in them.

Scheduling

Parents should share information about the children’s scheduling to prevent conflicts with the other parent’s plans.

Events such as birthday parties and holidays should be planned well in advance.