No sane parent wants to involve a child in a courtroom battle during an emotionally loaded divorce dispute. Most attorneys do their best to keep the younger generation out of the crossfire, and overwrought parents often stay deliberately mum, hoping to insulate their kids from their own fury and frustration, explains San Francisco divorce lawyer Pauline Tesler, co-author of the new book, Collaborative Divorce (ReganBooks, HarperCollins) with psychologist Peggy Thompson.
“More than a third of all children only get a ten minute explanation of these tumultuous events from their parents,” adds Thompson. “Some just get a single sentence, like ‘Daddy’s gone.’ At this point, kids need more high-quality parenting than ever before. Yet divorcing couples are more distracted and upset, and less able to provide it.”
