Parenting as a Christian Single Dad

Since Madalyn has not been going back and forth from my house to her moms she really seems to be doing so much better. Yet I am concerned because I know that her chances will be so much better if her mom and I can co-parent her in a healthy and kind manner . My ex will no longer talk to me because her new husband thinks we are having an affair which is totally rediculous. Because of this I feel that Madalyn is missing out so I made 2 mistakes that I am aware of recently: 1) I told my ex to call and talk to her daughter every night. She was only doing it once a week and I just don't think that is right. That pissed her off because I was being controlling - so I am told. 2) When her mom does call that one time a week Madalyn asks her "why are you calling?" and often times says she doesn't want to talk to her. I expressed to Madalyn that it is important for her to talk to her mom and stop what she is doing. I mentioned this to a coworker and was quickly reprimande...

Another year has passed and you would think getting through the holidays would just get that much easier. Unfortunately it isn’t always like that. Every where you turn families are preparing the way for a grand celebration. Even with the fun at hand there seems to be a bit of tension and stress around holiday season. For me it is the shuttling of Madalyn between mom and dads’ house that really gets to me. Sometimes it is really hard because I would show up to the door to pick her up and she would kick and scream all the way to the car and home. Of course she was just having too much fun to leave. There is much to this co-parenting thing and if you have a good relationship with your ex then it makes things a lot easier. Unfortunately I don’t have that luxury at this point however, I have not let it stop me from doing the best I can. 1. Getting beyond the kicking and screaming – I have learned that children don’t like surprises. I am not talking about surprising them with a trip to Dairy...