Almost anyone in Kentucky or anywhere else who shares in the responsibility of raising a child can be considered a co-parent. This can include biological parents, grandparents and foster parents. It can also include unmarried couples who had a child together. Those who are responsible for raising a child should keep the best interests of him or her as their top priority. Interactions with the child’s other parent should be formal and businesslike.

Children should never be put in the middle of issues between adults, and they should never be used to gather information on a parent’s behalf. Parenting classes are available for individuals who don’t think that they can get along with the other adults helping to raise their children. Ideally, people will encourage their children to have relationships with the other parents as well as other key adults in their lives.

Research has shown that kids do better when they have meaningful relationships with the adults in their lives. When picking up or dropping off a child, be sure that it is done in a manner that helps him or her feel secure. Before leaving, be sure that a child has everything that he or she needs while with the other parent. Finally, parents should do their best to answer questions a child may have about his or her family structure.

Raising a child may be easier when there is a plan in place to do so. Ideally, parenting plans will be created with the best interests of the child in mind, and they can be as narrow or as broad as parents want them to be. If both parties can’t reach an agreement privately, a judge may be asked to make a ruling as to the rights a parent has to a child.