Navigating the ups and downs of divorce looks different in each situation, but there are some universal ways to make it easier on our children. These start with better communication — rules around communicating that put your child first.

Here to help us establish some of these best practices is Dr. Tamara Afifi, a professor in Interpersonal Health Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her TedX Talk The impact of divorce on children has been viewed some 700,000 times.

Highlights:

[1:29] What are the most common issues that you see with families confronting divorce?

[2:34] What kind of communication is not positive for children?

[3:59] How does divorce affect children in the short-term?

[5:06] What can divorced parents do to support their children's resiliency over time?

[6:25] What are some best practices for divorced parents?

[9:47] A listener shares a question about maintaining consistency when it comes to childcare.

[11:45] How does divorce impact young children differently?

[13:18] We are closer to our children than in previous generations. How has this changed the way that children experience divorce?

[14:30] How can we differentiate between a divorce-related behavior and something else that might need to get addressed?

[16:07] Tammy zooms the lens out and offers some perspective.

[18:58] Jessica shares her top takeaways.

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