This episode of the Divorce Coaches Academy® Podcast explores one of the most overlooked dimensions of divorce: a child’s lived experience inside the conflict process.

While parents navigate legal decisions, emotional strain, and uncertainty, there is often a well-intended instinct to protect children by minimizing what they see or feel. But what happens when that protection becomes silence—and a child’s experience goes unacknowledged?

Tracy is joined by Carolyn Jacobs—certified divorce and co-parenting coach, parenting plan mediator, and DCA® Certified ADR Divorce Coach—to examine the critical distinction between shielding children from conflict and unintentionally disconnecting from their reality. Together, they unpack how children process what they sense versus what they’re told, the risks of “holding it together,” and how parents can model emotional honesty without placing emotional weight on the child.

Grounded in DCA®’s framing of divorce as a conflict and communication process, this conversation highlights how parent-child communication during divorce shapes a child’s long-term ability to navigate relationships, conflict, and self-expression. The episode also offers practical insight for professionals supporting parents who may be unintentionally minimizing their child’s experience—and how to begin repairing that dynamic.

The conversation extends into a broader lens on civil discourse, exploring how what happens inside the home directly influences a child’s ability to engage with difference and disagreement outside of it.

Carolyn also shares more about her upcoming Conversations that Contribute Series event: Fostering Civil Discourse Among Youth: A Conversation with Dr. Michael Saini. This 60-minute virtual event will take place on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 4 PM ET (1 PM PT / 3 PM CT), with tickets available for $10. Hosted by Ally in Divorce, the conversation supports Kids Managing Conflict, a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening peer mediation programs in schools. Register Here

This is a nuanced and highly relevant conversation for divorce professionals, parents, and anyone invested in how the next generation learns to navigate conflict—with clarity, empathy, and integrity.