No matter how much Virginia parents work together, disputes regarding the children will arise whether they are married or not. It is nearly impossible to always agree on how to raise the children or what decisions should be made on their behalf. A divorce only tends to complicate and amplify this issue, which is why parents in this position may want to make sure they add provisions into their parenting plans to deal with conflicts that will most likely inevitably arise.
For instance, a detailed parenting time schedule could help the parties avoid disputes regarding this issue. If everyone knows the schedule, there should be little reason to argue about who has the children when. Even so, scheduling issues will arise from time to time, and if the parenting plan includes a way to handle these times, it could reduce the potential for conflict.
Discipline is often a source of disagreement among all parents regardless of marital status. Divorcing parents have the unique opportunity to define what behaviors and actions require discipline, along with what discipline is acceptable and what is not. Agreeing on forms of discipline and actions requiring it also provides the children with consistency between households, which helps them avoid unnecessary confusion and stress.
The above represents just two issues that Virginia parents can address in their parenting plan. Other agreements could involve interfering in how each party spends time with the children, speaking ill of each other in front of the children and more. The more detail parents put into their agreements to handle certain disputes and conflicts, the better the chances are that they can be avoided or at least resolved quickly in a way that does not affect each parent’s relationship and time with the children and allows them to continue effectively co-parenting.
