Master the Art of Co-Parenting: How to Command a Positive Environment

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Join us on 15 Minutes with Dad as we conclude our enlightening series, “7 Key Steps to Child-Centered Co-Parenting,” with actionable strategies to nurture your child’s emotional well-being while strengthening your co-parenting dynamics. Discover how supportive communication, validation, and positive reinforcement play a vital role in encouraging emotional growth in children. As I share my personal experiences of parenting a teenager, you’ll gain practical insights into creating a safe, open space where kids feel free to express themselves, make mistakes, and grow through valuable life lessons.

Explore the transformative power of modeling positive behavior and learn why your actions always speak louder than words. By practicing patience, resilience, and self-love, you can directly influence your child’s behavior, self-esteem, and emotional health. Celebrate their small victories and watch how consistent positive attention fosters healthy habits and emotional security.

As a father who has faced the real challenges of teenage parenting, I offer practical tools to help you build a nurturing environment that supports your child’s mental health and emotional development. This final episode is a heartfelt invitation to reimagine fatherhood through the lens of empathy, presence, and genuine connection.

Don’t miss this powerful conclusion—rich with personal reflections and life-changing insights—designed to help you become a more intentional, emotionally available, and supportive co-parent.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey yo, welcome back to 15 Minutes with Dad.
I'm your host, lyric Williams,and today marks the final
episode of our series Seven KeySteps to Child-Centered
Co-Parenting.
Over the past few weeks, we'veunpacked tools, strategies and
stories to help co-parentscreate a positive and supportive
environment for their children.

(00:21):
From our closing conversation,we're focusing on two powerful
pillars encouraging emotionalgrowth and development in your
children and creating a trulysupportive co-parenting
relationship.
Let's dive in.
As co-parents, one of ourgreatest responsibilities is

(00:41):
nurturing our children'semotional well-being.
This doesn't happen by accident.
It takes intentionality.
Here's how you can encourageyour children's emotional growth
and development.
The first thing you can do isopen communication with your
children.
Kids need to know that they cancome to you about anything the
good, the bad and the messy.

(01:02):
Keep those lines ofcommunication open by asking
thoughtful questions like howdid that make you feel, or what
do you think we can do aboutthis or that?
When they speak, listen withoutjudgment or interruption.
Validate their feelings bysaying things like I understand
why you would feel that way.
This builds trust and lets themknow that they are safe to

(01:24):
express themselves.
This is a challenge that I face,being a father to a teenager.
It's really hard when theystart thinking for themselves
and having this abstract thoughtaround 11 or 12.
When they get into a teenager,they start being confident in
how they think and everythingseems as if they are challenging
.
What it is that you're saying,but the reality is, is that

(01:48):
they're trying to prove to youthat they do know that they can
do and they will make mistakes.
But you have to give them theopportunity to make mistakes and
redeem themselves in the midstof it.
And so being a person thatvalidates their feelings in
those moments.
I know we're people talkingabout gentle parenting and et
cetera, et cetera, but I'm nottalking about that.

(02:08):
I'm talking about treating yourchildren as if they are human
beings, by validating theirfeelings, because you would want
someone to validate yourfeelings as well.
Whether you're a guy or a girl,you would want your feelings to
be validated or non-binary.
I know this is the day and age,that there's all these
different things, but when itcomes to a person, no matter who

(02:29):
you are, you need and seek tofeel that your feelings are
validated in the midst of theworld.
And so when you're asking yourkid an open-ended question, let
them talk and don't put yourjudgment based on what they say.
You're going to feel how youfeel.
You're going to think that'sstupid.
Don't do that.
But don't say that.

(02:49):
Validate their feelings.
Okay, I see where you weregoing with that.
Here's another version of howyou could have attacked that and
let me know if that kind ofgives you the outcome that
you're looking for.
But making it an open dialogue.
And the second one that you cando to encourage your children's
emotional growth and developmentis by creating positive

(03:11):
reinforcement.
Celebrate the small wins.
When your child shares a kindgesture, aces a test or even
just shows resilience.
Let them know that you notice Asimple I'm proud of how hard
you worked on that can make ahuge impact.
Positive reinforcement not onlyboosts their self-esteem but
also encourages them to keepthose good habits.

(03:32):
And I know that as fathers, wetend to look at how can we make
things better and sometimes wetend to overpower, overbear on
our children to make them makethings better.
And they're going to makemistakes and they may be afraid
to tell you, they may be afraidfor you to know, but when you
praise the good things, theytend to lean more towards the

(03:56):
good things because that givesthem the attention.
By giving them only negativeattention.
They still seek that attentionbecause it's attention
nonetheless.
So the third thing that you cando to encourage your children's
emotional growth anddevelopment is by modeling
positive behavior.
You ever heard of that.
Don't do what I tell you to do.
Do what I, or don't do what yousee me do.

(04:18):
Do what I tell you to do.
That doesn't work in real life.
So, modeling positive behavior.
Your children learn by watchingand not just listening.
Visual impact is probably moreimpactful than auditory impact,
so show them what respect,patience and resilience look

(04:39):
like in real time.
This includes managingdisagreements with your
co-parent in healthy ways.
Instead of raising your voice,take a pause, listen and respond
thoughtfully.
Your kids are always watching,like mike.
What guy?
Who's white?
What is it?
Mike wazowski, there am Ialways watching, if you have.

(05:01):
If you uh are not a pixar fanor uh watch monsters inc?
Um, tune in lock in uh.
They'll mimic what they see intheir relationships later in
life.
It's important that you modelthat because when, if you think
about when you look, when youmodel yourself as an adult now,
you look at how your parentswere and what worked for them,

(05:26):
and then you start to be, eventhough you probably went on this
whole little tangent in life,but you tend to end up how your
parents ended up, because thatis this familiar stability that
exists in your life.
Even if it's an unstable, it'sa form of stability and identity
for you.
Let's move on to the nextsegment of this here podcast

(05:49):
episode.
We're going to talk aboutcreating a supportive
co-parenting relationship.
A strong co-parentingrelationship is the foundation
of a stable environment for yourchildren.
While challenges are inevitable, these practices can help you
navigate them together as a team.
The first is creating a spaceof mutual respect.
At the core of every successfulco-parenting relationship is

(06:14):
respect.
Speak kindly about each otherin front of your children and to
others.
Even when you disagree,maintain a tone of respect.
Your kids should never feelcaught in the middle or like
they need to choose sides.
When you model respect, you'reteaching your kids how to treat

(06:34):
others and handle conflict atthe same time.
The second is you want to buildconsistency as much as possible
across your households.
Kids thrive on stability whenboth households have consistent
rules, routines and expectations.
It removes the guesswork foryour children and helps them

(06:54):
feel secure.
For example, agree on bedtimeroutines, discipline strategies
and even homework schedules.
Communication is key here.
Regular check-ins with yourco-parent can ensure you're both
on the same page.
That stability providesconsistency for your children.

(07:15):
And the last one is involvementin school and extracurricular
activities.
It's important that bothparents are engaged in this
atmosphere.
Your children need to see thatboth are invested in their life.
Both parents should attendschool events, parent-teacher

(07:35):
conference and extracurricularactivities whenever possible.
Even if you can't both be thereat the same time, showing up
matters, it sends a clearmessage to your child.
Both of your parents caredeeply about your interest and
growth and when schedules don'talign, keep each other informed
so your child knows you're bothrooting for them.

(07:56):
So, for instance, there was atime earlier on in my daughter's
life where she wasn't making itto school, like her mom was not
taking her to school forwhatever reason.
It was a mile away and she justdid not take her to school that
day.
And so it got to a point wherethere was a truancy meeting that
had to be had between theparents and the school, and

(08:20):
although my daughter lived withher mom at the time, I pulled up
to the meeting and it happened,I think, two times in her time
with her mom.
But I showed up to those events, even though I didn't feel
responsible for my daughter notgoing to school because she
lives with her mom a mile awayfrom the school.

(08:41):
I'm thinking that she wouldbring her to school because it's
easier for her to get there,but it doesn't matter why, it
just mattered that I was therein that moment.
I had a strong relationshipwith the principal and the
teacher, so when anytime Mariahgot in trouble or anything at
school, they would reach out tome and I will pull up, and

(09:02):
usually she didn't want that,but I will pull up any, no
matter whose household she'sliving in.
I would drive across town 45minutes to get to to pull up at
a school, even on a work day,and so that being showing up no
matter what is very important,not just on the bad times but
also on the good times, wheneverthey're in events.

(09:24):
I made sure that, even if therewas a moment that I couldn't
show up, I had a friend show upand I still do that.
Right today.
I have whoever's in my village.
I've asked someone to show upin my place and catch videos for
me so that she knows that I amstill there and I'm getting
information for her, and itstill works, even with her as a

(09:45):
teenager at a basketball games.
So let's bring this wholeepisode together, this whole.
You know key strategies forco-parenting.
Let's bring this all togetherBecause when co-parents work
together to create a supportiveand emotional enriching

(10:06):
environment, the impact onchildren is profound.
They feel seen, heard andsupported, and that builds their
confidence to face the world.
One of the most importantlessons I've learned is that
co-parenting isn't about beingperfect.
It's about being present andintentional.
It's about putting yourchildren's needs above your

(10:29):
personal differences andcommitting to growth both for
them and for yourselves.
As we wrap up this series, Iwant to leave you with this
Co-parenting is a journey, not adestination.
Celebrate the progress you'vemade, keep refining your
approach and always lead withlove and respect.

(10:50):
If this series have resonatedwith you, share it with a friend
or a fellow co-parent.
Let's spread the word aboutcreating healthy, child-centered
co-parenting relationships.
And if you haven't already,pick up a copy of my book Manna
From Our Trauma to beingImpactful Fathers, available on
Amazon or you can visit15minswithdadcom forward slash

(11:11):
co-parent to get more tips andstrategies.
It's full of tools and insightsto help fathers navigate
challenges and build strongerrelationships with their kids.
Lastly, if this podcast hashelped you, please leave a
rating and review.
Your support helps us reachmore listeners who need this
kind of guidance.
Thank you for joining me onthis co-parenting journey.

(11:32):
This has been 15 Minutes withDad.
I'm Lyric.
Remember.
Every small step you takematters.
Stay intentional, stay presentand keep building the future
your children deserve.
See you next time.