Navigating the ups and downs of divorce looks different in each situation, but there are some universal ways to make it easier on our children. These start with better communication — rules around communicating that put your child first.

Here to help us establish some of these best practices is Dr. Tamara Afifi, a professor in Interpersonal Health Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her TedX Talk The impact of divorce on children has been viewed some 700,000 times. 

Highlights:

[1:29 ] What are the most common issues that you see with families confronting divorce? 

[2:34 ] What kind of communication is not positive for children?

[3:59 ] How does divorce affect children in the short-term?  

[5:06 ] What can divorced parents do to support their children’s resiliency over time?

[6:25 ] What are some best practices for divorced parents?

[9:47 ] A listener shares a question about maintaining consistency when it comes to childcare.

[11:45 ] How does divorce impact young children differently? 

[13:18 ]  We are closer to our children than in previous generations. How has this changed the way that children experience divorce? 

[14:30 ] How can we differentiate between a divorce-related behavior and something else that might need to get addressed? 

[16:07 ] Tammy zooms the lens out and offers some perspective.

[18:58 ] Jessica shares her top takeaways.

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