When you and your child’s other parent split up in New Jersey, the last thing you may want is to encourage your child to spend more time with the person with whom you no longer see eye to eye. Yet, unless there are allegations of abuse or neglect, it may serve you well to not only allow your child to develop a stronger relationship with the other party but encourage and even help facilitate it, too.
Per Psychology Today, there are several arguments for working to foster the relationship that exists between your child and his or her mother and father. Here are some of them.
It may help your custody case
Courts often consider each parent’s degree of flexibility and willingness to work with the other when making decisions about where a child should live. Again, unless there is reason to believe spending time in a particular parent’s home is unsafe, courts typically encourage both parents to take active roles in the lives of their children. This often means giving the child a chance to spend nights in the homes of both parents.
It makes you look stable and agreeable
While fostering and encouraging the bond between your child and his or her other parent helps show that you prioritize what is in your child’s best interests, failing to do so may do the opposite. Using a child as a weapon by withholding parenting time rarely works in anyone’s favor.
Even if your ex may not be your favorite person right now, learning to keep the relationship between you and him or her – and him or her and your child – separate is good for everyone involved.