Divorces can be messy but when children are involved the situation becomes even more complex. What happens when you have to communicate with the person you may never want to see again? You simply text or email, according to many divorcees.
The New York Times reports that couples with joint custody of their children use technology as a way to create a peaceful correspondence to schedule visits. Communicating remotely allows for minimal face-to-face interaction and awkward or angry phone calls between parents. Some parents are even buying their children cellphones to speak to them without having to go through the other parent.
“When it comes to child arrangements,” Erin McGillivray, the mother of a 2-year-old, said “we typically communicate via e-mail. Schedules, drop-offs, pickups, sick-day care: it’s all done electronically. Neither of us wants to argue in front of our daughter, but as much as we would want to avoid it, it would happen.â€
To many people texting or emailing an ex may seem detached and unemotional; something a phone call or an in-person meeting might deliver. But, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many texts or emails are exchanged. For many parents it provides a much need way to heal from past hurt without depriving a child access to both parents.
Weigh in: Divorced parents, has technology helped or hurt your interactions with your ex? Your children?