Respectful Communication Is The Key TM
Peace is a Moment-by-Moment Choice ...
Kids already live this .... one minute they're arguing-up a storm with each other, and the next they're the best of friends! We see this all the time, right?!?
As adults, though, we tend to hang-on tightly to the perceived wrongs of our present and past. We hang-onto resentments. We say and do things to make it crystal clear we want nothing to do with a person we believe has harmed us, even if that person is our kid's other parent, our "Co-Parent."
What happens, then, if you absolutely must interact with the other parent in a respectful, shared-custody-parenting arrangement? What if you have a Court Ordered Parenting Plan directing you work respectfully and cooperatively with your Co-Parent? Or, what if you just intuitively know it's in your kid's best interests for his/her parents to have a respectful co-parenting experience; regardless of what has transpired between you two in the past (even if it's in the "recent" past), you must now put that aside and learn to work together. (Just like you would with someone in your professional life who might not have the type of personality you particularly like, but with whom you have to work cooperatively and respectfully if you want to keep your job.)
Whether you're exercising the often difficult task of putting your own ego aside and putting your kid's interests first, or you're following a Court Ordered Parenting Plan (because you have to), or doing both, you now have the opportunity to raise your child(ren) in a flexible and cooperative environment with your son and/or daughter's other parent, your Co-Parent.
