The vast majority of parents in Pennsylvania will end up with some sort of co-parenting arrangement after their divorce. Any tool making it easier to do so is something worth checking out.

Modern parents have a lot of great options to choose from. Many of them solve the biggest co-parenting problems out there: namely, scheduling and communication.

Google Calendar

This is perhaps the easiest and most accessible options, especially if both parents are Gmail users. However, it’s feature-weak. 

Add pick-up and drop-off times, items on the child’s schedule, items on your schedule you want the other parent to know about, and more. Color code it for each person and have it alert your phone.

2 Houses

An app with a lot of options, available for $6.49 per month. It has a calendar too. It also has a feature for recording the child’s expenses, a journal where you can record important facts about the child, and an album where you can share photos. You can also upload documents like school or medical reports.

You can get your entire custody arrangement into this calendar, which understands recurring dates and schedules. It color codes the whole thing for you.

Coparently

Very similar to 2 Houses, and currently sold at $9.99 per month.

Coparently includes a secure, in-app messaging system. It adds the ability to enter important contact numbers (like your child’s doctor) into its own section of the app. It loses the ability to upload files or photos.

Talking Parents

This one costs $4.99 per month. Very similar to the other two, with one important legal feature: unalterable communication records.

If you or your spouse (or both) have been chastised for a judge for failing to communicate and you need to have proof that communication is taking place, this is the app for you.

Family Time

Though this app was originally designed for parents to keep track of teens, some co-parents have used it to keep track of both the kids, and each other. It can certainly tell you if your ex is on the way but is simply a little late for whatever reason. It can also tell you that your ex is not currently smuggling your child out of state.

This is one to be careful with. If you and your ex are in an adversarial relationship this app could be an open door for you and your ex to start using technology to spy on one another. Such activities are obviously detrimental to maintaining a healthy co-parenting relationship.

Tech to Avoid

Text messages and social media are important tech tools to avoid.

Text messages can become a problem because they’re so easy to misinterpret as curt, rude, or sarcastic.

As for social media? Social media can get used against you all-too-easily. Even posting pictures of you doing fun stuff with the kids can become a pitfall. Maybe the other parent thinks your fun rock climbing expedition is dangerous and makes an issue out of it. Maybe your ex just feels like you’re rubbing fun kid time in his or her face.

Either way, Facebook and Twitter just aren’t worth it for co-parents. Keeping quiet about one’s personal life is a smart strategy for anyone who has been divorced.

Other Resources

Co-parenting can be hard. Check out these additional posts for more tips on how to make it work as smoothly as possible.

• Co-Parenting Your Way Through the Holidays
• These Co-Parenting Mistakes Will Get You Into Hot Water
• How to Create a Solid Parenting Plan
• Ignore the Implications of Joint Legal Custody at Your Own Risk
• What if My Child Doesn’t Want to Spend Time With the Non-Custodial Parent?
• Is Nesting a Good Option for Your Philadelphia Divorce?

Got more questions about custody or co-parenting? Need to modify an order or open a new case? Contact us today to get a free case evaluation.