Resources

Here are some helpful links for Co-Parenting

Videos

• Split A film for kids of divorce (and their parents)
• Voice of the Child of Divorce, a film on Youtube

Website Resources 

• The Ontario branch of the AFCC (Association of Family and Conciliation Courts) lists many resources for creating parenting plans and co-parent communication.
• Justice Canada offers guides to help separating parents make decisions about a parenting plan and a do-it-yourself tool for creating a parenting plan. Its main Family Law web page is full of useful information as well. Finally, Justice Canada offers a literature review called “The Effects of Divorce on Children” that is useful.
• Families Change: Helping Kids, Teens and Parents Deal With a Family Break Up is a useful website with parent, teen and kids’ guides created by the Justice Education Society and Community Legal Education Ontario.
• The High Conflict Institute provides a good inventory of useful articles on this page.
• Parenting After Separation for Families in High Conflict. This three-hour course is provided at no cost by the government of Alberta.
• The Canadian Bar Association’s Successfully Parenting Apart is a useful resource.
• Family Man: Parenting Strategies that Work, a parenting program designed with dads in mind.
• The Black Daddies Club: a support system for Black men and fathers.

Online Courses

• New Ways for Families: Co-Parenting Playbook Options. This 12-module course (about $70 Cdn ) is produced by the High Conflict Institute, a US organization led by Bill Eddy. The course is required for parents in court in several jurisdictions. Either or both parents can take the training, and optional coaching is available.
• Inventive Minds Child, Youth, Family Support Centre Parenting Workshops. A Toronto-based not-for-profit, this organization offers online parenting programs approved by the Office of the Children’s Lawyer and the Children’s Aid Society.
• Parenting from Two Homes. RiseUp Counselling offers this online course, which is $129 for both parents. It consists of six modules that can be completed in about two hours. It teaches parents communication skills and strategies that can build empathy for each other, which in turn helps the children flourish in their love for both parents. The course can be accessed on the RiseUp website.

Books and Other Resources

While there are many books that help co-parents navigate the landscape of their separation, these are a few of the websites we have found helpful in finding the right ones.

• The Co-Parenting Collective includes a list of good books for kids and co-parents, films, and family games.
• Parents of Black Children: a website of resources supporting Black families in varied contexts
• Your Place or Mine? A new book by Toronto family lawyer Charlotte Schwartz contains practical advice for developing a co-parenting plan.
• BIFF for CoParent Communication: Your Guide to Difficult CoParent Texts, Emails and Social Media Posts. Given this book has been on the Amazon best-seller list for over two years, we think it is a good choice.
• High Conflict Institute has published various articles and books to help parents navigate complex post-separation conflicts.