By Sara Mulcahy
鈥淲hen a marriage ends, you transform from a romantic relationship into a co-parenting partnership,鈥 says Dr Helen Stallman, clinical psychologist with the Triple P Family Transitions Program.
鈥淗ow you do that pretty much dictates the future, and how you are going to manage those ongoing interactions. Ideally, both parents will be there at a school concert or a wedding or the birth of a grandchild. If you鈥檙e in that co-parenting relationship, where this is just your child鈥檚 other parent, you will be able to cope well with that.鈥
Focus on yourself
A good working relationship depends to an extent on your former partner and how well they manage it, but you only really have control over your own decisions and actions.