4 Tips to Improve Dads’ Co-Parenting

For many parents, co-parenting can be more battle than partnership. But you can help change that story.

How?

By using the following tips to improve dads’ co-parenting.

1. Understand why co-parenting support for dads is important.

Healthy co-parenting involves both parents sharing responsibilities and collaborating. This leads to:

• Better child outcomes, including emotional stability, academic performance, and social skills.
• Reduced parental stress, conflict, and legal battles.
  
• Increased father involvement, especially when dads feel supported, respected, and invited to participate in the parenting process.
  
  

2. Understand the barriers dads face.

As you develop an approach to improve dads’ co-parenting, recognize their common barriers, such as:

• Feeling excluded by service systems or moms.
• Limited access due to custody issues, incarceration, or court orders.
• Mistrust of systems, especially among those with past negative experiences (e.g., staff unable or unwilling to help and systems focused only on dad’s ability to pay child support).
• Cultural norms that still treat moms as default caregivers.

Acknowledging these barriers will help you take a more empathetic, father-inclusive approach.

3. Support moms in including dads.

Here are some ways to help moms see the value of dads’ involvement in their children’s lives.

• Share research showing the benefits of father involvement for child development.
• Address concerns about past conflict or behavior with empathy, safety, and healthy boundaries that promote stability and minimize conflict.
• Encourage setting up safe and structured ways for dads’ involvement, even when romantic relationships have ended.
• Ask open-ended questions like, “Tell me about your child’s dad. What’s your co-parenting relationship like?”
• Avoid making assumptions (e.g., assuming a dad is absent or disinterested).

National Fatherhood Initiative® (NFI) offers a program called Understanding Dad™ that raises mom’s awareness of the important role dads play in their children’s lives.

4. Work with dads to build self-confidence.

Many dads, especially young or nonresident ones, doubt their parenting abilities. Help them:

• Identify their strengths as dads.
• Learn child development basics.
• Develop skills for managing conflict and supporting their co-parent.

24:7 Dad® is an evidence-based program that helps dads build self-confidence.

You’ve read the tips. Now it’s time to apply them and become a champion for improving dads’ co-parenting and father inclusion in your organization.

How does your organization currently include or exclude dads in co-parenting support? What small changes could make a big difference?

What assumptions might you or your team be making about a parent’s involvement based on gender, custody, or past relationship dynamics?