Divorce: Putting Your Children First

Protecting your child’s emotional well-being should always come first especially if you are going through a divorce. You should always avoid badmouthing the other parent, keep your kids out of conflicts, and work to co-parent with respect and flexibility. Collaborative Divorce offers experts such as child specialists to support healthy communication and emotional stability. By staying focused on shared parenting goals, you can help your children feel loved, secure, and resilient through the transition.

No matter what changes a family is going through during the divorce process, one thing should remain the same: your children’s emotional health must come first. With the right approach, you can reduce stress and help your children feel safe and supported throughout the process.

Protect Your Children’s Emotional Well-Being

Children often take emotional cues from their parents. That is why it is so important to maintain respect, even when tensions are high.

There are several ways to protect your child emotionally:

• Never speak badly about the other parent in front of your children
• Stop others from making negative comments around your children (like friends or family)
• Don’t use your child as a messenger or involve them in adult disagreements

Keeping your children out of the middle will help them feel secure and loved by both parents.

Co-Parenting with Respect

Even after your separation, you are still a parenting team. Co-parenting takes effort, but showing respect and flexibility goes a long way.

Healthy co-parenting includes:

• Making joint decisions that are in your child’s best interest
• Attending your child’s events peacefully, even if it’s uncomfortable
• Being flexible with holidays, birthdays, and visitation plans
• Reassuring your children that both parents still love and support them

Showing unity where possible can help ease your child’s anxiety and assist them in adjusting to the new family dynamic.

Professional Support in Collaborative Divorce

In Collaborative Divorce, trained collaborative professionals help to keep the focus on your children and their well-being. Child Specialists can be brought into the Collaborative Divorce team to support communication between co-parents better and ensure children’s emotional needs are met.

A child specialist does not take sides, their role is to support solutions that are child-centered and long-lasting.

Setting Clear Goals

At the outset of the Collaborative Divorce process, you both establish your goals for your divorce. One of the most important goals is to minimize the emotional impact of divorce on children. This shared intention helps you to stay focused, even during tough conversations.

Your child’s emotional health is more important than any disagreement. By working together, keeping the focus on your children, and utilizing professional support when needed, you can help your children emerge from the divorce stronger and more secure.

Zaneta Matthews is an Orlando family law attorney known for guiding clients through the divorce process with empathy and clarity. She believes that how a divorce begins can greatly influence its outcome and works with clients to set the tone for respectful, collaborative solutions. She is a member of Collaborative Divorce Central Florida and the Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals. If you need help with your divorce question? 📞 Call Zaneta Matthews at (407) 630-8959 to schedule a consultation.