Mom's House, Dad's House: Making Two Homes for Your Child

Can children flourish in any custody situation? If their parents read Mom's House, Dad's House, the answer is a resounding "yes." This unique groundbreaking classic, which has become the standard for two generations of parents, is again breaking new ground - revised, updated, and expanded - with examples, self-tests, checklists, and guidelines. This comprehensive guide looks anew at the needs of all concerned with even more creative options and commonsense advice in the legal, emotional, and practical realities of creating two happy and stable homes for your children. Features: The map to a "decent divorce" and two happy homes; healing yourself and your children; the New Family Bill of Rights after separation. Helping your children with age-specific advice; explaining change, giving them continuity and security; restabilizing their sense of home and family; danger signals; five ways to evaluate your children's time. Negotiating Parenting Agreements; legal do's and don'ts; time arrangements, custody types; attorneys; how to get ready for negotiations; when to use mediation; using "HIRT" test when an agreement is broken. Breaking away from "negative intimacy" with a difficult ex; how to talk to your former mate; steps to building a "businesslike" relationship as parents; how to avoid becoming the neighbourhood "soap opera." Sidestepping destructive myths; making the emotions, "flashbacks, " and heartbreak of separation or divorce work for you and your child. Handling long-distance parenting; managing the return of an absent parent, holidays, remarriage, life without another parent.  Keywords: Parenting, Separation and Divorce, Individual Differences/Special Needs