What about the children?

Separation and the impact on children can be very complex. Children, as well as parents, feel the stress and confusion. Many kids feel angry, sad and frustrated about the prospect of their parents splitting up and are uncertain what life will be like afterwards. Your ability to:

  • communicate successfully with your child
  • meet their needs for safety and support
  • take care of yourself, and
  • maintain a civil relationship between parents

will all have a positive effect on your child. Given the right support, your child will be able express their feelings, grieve their loss, and emerge from this unsettling time a stronger, more resilient person. Children love their parents.  Mediation increases parents ability to communicate with each other about the children’s best interest.

That doesn’t mean parents have to like each other after they separate. It does mean they have to find a different way of parenting as separated parents. We’ll help you determine a parenting plan, support and extraordinary expenses for the child.

One study, which looked at separated parents’ relationships with their children over a 12-year period, found that parents who went to mediation rather than court when they divorced had significantly better long term relationships with their children.