Empathy

What positive views do you currently have about your coparent? What are the positive attributes you believe they hold as a parent and as a person eg. loving, caring, nurturing, stable, reliable etc.?

In what ways do you think your coparent expresses or demonstrates love for your children? e.g. words, financial support, working longer hours to support the new living arrangement, hugs, bedtime stories, wanting more time with the kids, etc.

If you asked them, how do you think they would describe their life right now? This is, of course, speculation, but try and be as honest with yourself as you can be.

How do you think their quality of life has changed since your separation? Think about the fears you’ve faced and see how you can relate those or others to your co-parent.*

What fears do you think they hold around their present situation? Included in this might be their role in the family, financial security, living / housing, etc.

The point of this exercise was to keep at top of mind that you have both made sacrifices in order to coparent your children and remain active, loving participants in their lives. You will both face challenges and struggles and you are both now going through something which was unpredictable at the time when you first decided to have children together. This is your final question. I hope by now it can be an easy choice to make. “I am committed to being the best parent and coparent I can be”.