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Lisa J. Peterson: Posted on Friday, February 03, 2012 7:05 PM
Conflict in families is a normal part of life. It is how we learn to deal with conflict outside of our small circle - out in the big world. But conflict in divorcing or divorced families can be more than anyone can or wants to deal with. The good news is that divorced parents have a lot more control over minimizing the conflict than is typically realized or acknowledged.Parents can learn to work well with each other but they have to stop being influenced by their anger or by others (misery loves company and insecure people thrive on creating conflict). |
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a3annarborattorney: Posted on Friday, February 03, 2012 7:02 PM
Being a stepparent is probably one of the most difficult roles an adult ever assumes. Going in with few expectations, a lot of flexibility and a commitment to make little to no impact is a good rule of thumb. Almost without fail problems arise when a stepparent gets into a relationship with a legal or biological parent, someone with children. Blending a family is not an easy undertaking and requires an enormous amount of selflessness and adaptability on the part of the stepparent. In my view there are three issues that seem to arise more frequently than others with stepparent introductions and/or transitions: |
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Lisa J. Peterson: Posted on Friday, February 03, 2012 2:48 AM
In Michigan the law presumes it is in the child's best interests to have a strong relationship with both parents. What does that mean? The language seems firm and clear, likely to lead to good decisions and outcomes. Despite this firm language the presumption rarely seems to successfully translate into a physical custody arrangement that truly mirrors the best interests of the children. Why is that? Well while the presumption is an important one, it is one that actually invites biases rather than helps dispel them. |
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Lisa J. Peterson: Posted on Friday, February 03, 2012 12:22 AM
I recently learned an acquaintance of mine, let’s call her “Sally,” made the mistake of starting parenting coordination/mediation with a social worker who held herself out as an expert in the area of parenting disputes but was certainly not. This so-called expert had perhaps a couple of cases under her belt that went well but “Sally’s” case with her ex was very adversarial – exceptionally antagonistic. This particular social worker (aka parenting coordinator, aka mediator) was not equipped to handle this situation. |
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