Gaslighting
This is a relatively trendy word in the psychology community right currently but gaslighting essentially involves a constant form of manipulation and/or emotional invalidation that leaves one party questioning their own sanity. In the case of conflict, gaslighting often involves de…
As a family law attorney, I was riveted to hear about this 17-year-old Girl Scout fighting to change the law in her home state of New Hampshire; the law allows girls as young as 13, and boys who are 14 to be married with the consent of a judge who finds a special circumstance.
You can watch th…
The nuances of abortion are not something readily discussed in our society. Abortion is a hot button issue that many people feel strongly about on both sides of the isle and I view this issue through a limited partisan lens, often ignoring both scientific and economic facts. One of the most strik…
Parental alienation occurs when a child, during a high conflict divorce, aligns himself or herself on the side of one parent to the detriment of their relationship with/completely alienation of the other parent. There are concrete steps you can take to avoid this situation, as it is harmful for a…
Independent thinking
The ability to think outside the box is a skill that will serve your teen in almost all circumstances. This includes critical thinking, which must be fostered from a relatively young age. If you consistently impede your child’s ability to create their own thoughts and opin…
Depending on the nature of your custody arrangement, it is likely that your children are required to split time between two houses. Things can get complicated when your child may not want to go to one house or another. This refusal can occur for a wide variety of reasons and it is important to un…
Everyone will not be happy
While you and your new spouse may be blissfully happy it is important to recognize that most of the other members of the family are probably not approaching this transition from the same emotional place. It is important to not only recognize this but also behave acco…
Most of the time unsolicited advice is innocuous, but in the case of divorce, advice from well meaning but misinformed people can be harmful.
Encouraging acrimony
Especially if you feel slighted by your divorce, it is likely that those around you may encourage you to “fight” or be intenti…
Planning for summer two to three months in advance allows everyone in the family to prepare for, and enjoy summer with less stress, conflict and uncertainty.
Once the summer schedule is set, parents may still make requests of one another for schedule changes in order to take advantage of spontan…
1. Love yourself
Being a single parent is incredibly daunting and you will be a thousand times more successful if you engage in self-care. In order to be a good parent, especially when doing the job solo, its important to be the best version of your self. This can only be achieved by loving you…