You are right to be concerned for the effect your divorce will have on your children. There is good news and bad news. First the good news. Children do not have to be traumatized by divorce. While changes in living circumstances can be stressful, what traumatizes children the most is parental conflict. It can actually be a relief to children when parents separate and they are no longer subjected to the stress and anxiety of daily parental conflict. Now for the bad news. Exposure to parental conflict has devastating effects on children. Parents who engage in high conflict litigation and who use their children as pawns in the divorce process do all kinds of emotional damage to their children. Mediation of child custody and parenting plans can stop this damaging conflict. Mediation helps parents get back on the same page as parents.
If you or your children are experiencing the effects of parental conflict, please call me today at 803-414-0185, to see if I can help.
I help parents develop parenting plans that are age appropriate for the child, workable and realistic. Mediated parenting plans also protect the relationship that each parent has with the child. When there are differences of opinion, the mediation process may incorporate guidance from a Ph.D. Child Psychologist to help the parents reach agreement about the needs of their child.
Even if it feels like you are locked in conflict that there is no solution to, child custody mediation or mediation of your parenting plan may be able to help. Whatever your challenges with regard to child custody, visitation, or parenting, I will go the extra mile to help you reach agreement. If your current agreement is not working or if you need modification of an existing parenting plan, I can help with that, too. You do not need to be in agreement before seeing a mediator! All you have to do is both agree to sit at a table with an open mind and a desire to avoid harm to your children. I will help you explore issues, options, and decide upon solutions you both can live with. Together, the two of you can find solutions that affirm both parents and help each of you give your children what they need most: a happy childhood.
Co-parenting is the “buzzword” that is always bantered about when people talk about parenting children after divorce. This is a great solution for parents that have low conflict relationships and can openly communicate about parenting issues. When high conflict parents try this and fail it is called Conflicted Parenting. Conflicted Parenting can be devastating to a child and cause tremendous problems.
Pingback: Non-Adversarial Family and Elder Law