A question for parents who share custody of their young child(ren)?

Question

Does anyone have a problem maintaining a certain amount of structure and discipline with a young child whose time is split between parents? For example, sleeping pattern, eating schedules, level of discipline, etc. And if you had this problem, was your ex willing to compromise with you to solve it? If he/she wasn't willing to compromise, what did you do about it?

Answer 1

We have come across some issues with consistency between each of us, and our daughter (now 2) realizes she can try to get away with different things depending on which parent she is with.

At first my ex was a bit defiant when it came to following my schedule and discipline techniques (I'm tough, he's a softy).  He soon realized that his way didn't work, and he started to ask for my help when it came to discipline.  Although he still struggles with following through, he is makinga stronger attempt and it shows.

When things aren't going the way my daughter wants she says "I wanna go home."  Meaning, she wants to go to the other parent's house.  It's funny to see that she has figured that out already.  As long as my ex and I work together as a team when it comes to raising our daughter, I think it will work out alright inthe end.

Answer 2

Yes! Raising a child in two different homes is the pits. You just have to remind your ex that you are both still the child's parents and you need to be on the same page as far as the child goes. You may have to talk to your ex about it more than once. If he/she loves the child they should be willing to put aside your differences and compromise on some level.