If your marriage is failing and you are enrolled in a nasty divorce battle involving the custody of children, whom do you call? Of course, a parenting coordinator, for he/she would be the right person to help parents resolve their dispute or at least agree upon the moral and legal obligations they have towards their children. A parenting coordinator can either be selected by the parents, or can be appointed by the court presiding over the matter. In any case, a parenting coordinator would have several responsibilities and duties, the more important of which are given below.
Implementation of Plans
A parenting coordinator must come up with a parenting plan that is agreed upon by both sides. It is the coordinator’s job to make sure both parents are comfortable with the terms and conditions of the plan, and agree to the same before putting it into practice. For example, terms like where the child would stay, who would need to pay for his/her education and whether he/she needs outside help in the form of a psychologist etc. would need to be clearly defined and agreed upon by both sides. The parenting coordinator would also keep a detailed record of all these plans and subsequent meetings.
Provision of Resources
A parenting coordinator would need to have contact with specific resources in order to get help when dealing with parenting issues. For instance, the coordinator should be able to lead parents to specific organizations, in case their child goes through psychologically turbulence due to the separation (or any other disturbances at home). Techniques on how to co-parent the child would also need to be given by a parenting coordinator in the presence of parents who face strain because of their child’s health condition.
Communication Facilitation
The parenting coordinator needs to act as neutral third party in between feuding parents. He/she should communicate the needs and preferences of one parent to the other and vice versa, and should encourage them to come to a mutual conclusion that would best benefit the child. As such, a parenting coordinator must find out ways in which an offensive communication becomes a more peaceful and constructive communication between parents.
Conflict Resolution
As a third party, a parenting coordinator must find out the major reasons for the conflict between parents, and then should find out ways to resolve the issue in an amicable manner for the child’s sake. For instance, if parents wish to raise their child in their respective homes, the parenting coordinator may make them see the logic behind having the kid being a part of both homes.
