Should take the parenting class when you divorce in Nevada?

Clients often ask us why they have to take the parenting class. It comes up sooner or later in every conversation we have with divorce clients.

We all have too much on our plates; that's a fact. When we are going through a divorce, there's even more to do, not to mention the stress it adds to your already over-scheduled day.

So, who wants to add one more thing to their to-do lists by taking a parenting class, even if it's online?

First off, if you live in Clark County, Nevada and file a divorce here, it's required by the court. Your divorce will not be granted otherwise.  The court made it mandatory in the hope that it would remove bickering divorced parents from the very busy court calendar.

Luckily, it's now possible to take it online, so no driving, parking, and blocking out a particular time on a particular day. Just take it whenever you can fit it in, in the middle of the night even, if that's what works best for you.

You might feel resentful at being told by a court that you have to take it in order to get your decree of divorce, and this can affect how you receive the information.

You might be tempted to take it in a hurry just to get the certificate you need, and you might not want to pay it much attention, but here's why you should pay attention and give it as much time as it requires for you to retain the information in it and actually be able to use it later. Figure out how to see it as something valuable to you rather than just one more chore.

Because it is valuable to you. Very valuable. Even if it's not a requirement where you live, you should strongly consider taking it.

Essentially, you're trading the three to five hours it will take you to go through the course against possibly hundreds of hours of frustration with your ex (depending on how long you'll co-parent your child(ren) with him or her), as well as saving your children from emotional damage associated with putting them in the middle.

Here's how you will benefit:

1) You will learn the skills you need to avoid your children emotional harm caused by certain behaviors too often typical of divorcing parents:

o Having your child carry messages rather than communicating directly with your ex

o Questioning your child about what goes on in your ex's house

o Putting you ex down verbally to your children

o Discussing money problems with your child

o Issues related to long-distance parenting

2) You will learn strategies with which to deal directly with your ex, which will benefit both of you as well as the children you must parent together:

o Deal with your ex in a respectable manner

o Learn tactics to control any anger you might feel toward your ex

o Learn to not play the “loyalty” game with your children. Your children love both of you and should be free to be loyal to both parents.

Think of the time and aggravation you'll save yourself by simply having the tools to deal with potentially explosive situations with your ex and weigh it against just a few hours of your time now.  We think you know the answer now as to whether or not you should take the parenting class when you divorce in Nevada.

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