Ex-etiquette: Co-parenting means there's built-in help

Recently, I had two parents sitting in my office disgusted with each other. The mother walked in with a laundry list of what the father was doing wrong — starting with not cleaning their 8-month-old twins properly.

"They are going to get UTI's if he's not more careful. I think he needs supervised visits!" The current parenting plan included two-day visits and one overnight night a week with the father. Now, mom wanted supervised visits.

The father was floored. "Supervised visits?" he said. "These are my babies, too!"

The mother continued with her laundry list. "And, he doesn't know how to put the girls in their car seats properly! I can put my entire fist under the straps!"

I looked at his hands and I looked at hers. "Look at his hands. I'm sure he can't put his fist under the straps."

The list continued. "I try to co-parent," the mother said. "I really do."

"Really?" I asked. "Because nothing you just told me had anything to do with co-­parenting."

I let that sink in for a second. "That's true, but you're telling the wrong person. I don't change the children. I don't put them in the car seat. Dad does."

Getting more frustrated by the minute, the mother finally blurted. "I think he should make a doctor's appointment and have the doctor show him how to properly clean a little girl!"

"Why didn't you just show him?" I asked.

"We were never really together," she said. "I barely know him."

"Well," I said, "It's time to get to know him. Mom, meet Dad, your new friend for life."

"Many think breaking up now is just like breaking up in high school. It was fun but it's over. Bye. Now, you don't have the luxury of moving on. You can't do that when you have children. Your children need both of you; they love and depend on you both. Don't you realize you have built-in help?

"Here two people share something as miraculous as two children. They could band together in their children's name and realize that they have this mutual responsibility to raise and teach another human being. Doesn't matter if they love each other. They are partners in another human. And, hopefully, they will move on to someone who loves that child and helps them raise the child, too — and the child has four people who love and care for them."

I continued, "So, the next time Dad picks up the girls may I suggest you set aside about a half-hour and you show him the proper way to clean a little girl?"

"Of course," the mother said. "I guess I have to change my attitude. I sincerely didn't realize."

She turned to the father. "I am sincerely sorry."

"Welcome to the wonderful world of what co-parenting really means," I said. "That's good ex-etiquette."