Community Corner
CoParenting101.org: A Guide for Divorced Parents
Local residents Deesha Philyaw and Michael Thomas launched a website that is a great tool for all parents going through a separation or divorce, or for anyone involved in a blended family.
Regent Square resident Deesha Philyaw and her husband, Forest Hills resident Michael Thomas, divorced in 2006. Ever since, they’ve managed to maintain a healthy, symbiotic co-parenting relationship.
They especially wanted to remain close for the sake of their two girls, six-year-old Taylor and 10-year-old Paeyton.
After they split, Thomas received a lot of positive feedback from co-workers and friends concerning his successful co-parenting dynamic with his ex-wife. He approached Philyaw about possibly writing a book.
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“I’ve always been a writer, so I took the bull by the horns,” Philyaw said.
She figured the best platform for their potential book would be a blog—one that connects people who are in similar situations as themselves, a blog where co-parents and blended families can share their stories with others.
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Now, that blog, coparenting101.org, is becoming a book about co-parenting by the divorced couple that will be published in the spring of 2013 by New Harbinger Publishers.
In June of 2008, Philyaw and her ex-husband launched the website coparenting101.org. The site provides resources for single parents whose ex-spouses won’t cooperate with them, for people dating co-parents, for co-parents who just started dating, and much more.
They’ve found that their personal stories resonated with many more different people than they expected.
“The site has made us better co-parents,” Philyaw said. “When problems arise, I’m more thoughtful now and less reactive. And it’s made me appreciate Michael as a co-parent even more.”
Not only has their site helped them, but so many other co-parents around the nation and right here in the neighborhood.
Local resident Gretchen Zelinksy has been using the site for almost a year now. She and her husband divorced about two years ago.
The two live only a mile apart and manage to both remain active in their children's lives. Zelinksy, her ex-husband, and their two daughters , spend holidays and vacations together each year. Their family benefits greatly from the stories, resources and recommendations on coparenting101.org.
“So many questions I have are answered on the site,” Zelinksy said.