Family and Parenting
Two common conflict tactics that are counterproductive
July 11, 2017
Gaslighting This is a relatively trendy word in the psychology community right currently but gaslighting essentially involves a constant form of manipulation and/or emotional invalidation that leaves one party questioning their own sanity. In the case of conflict, gaslighting often involves de...
Legal Age for Marriage
June 20, 2017
As a family law attorney, I was riveted to hear about this 17-year-old Girl Scout fighting to change the law in her home state of New Hampshire; the law allows girls as young as 13, and boys who are 14 to be married with the consent of a judge who finds a special circumstance. You can watch th...
Motherhood and Abortion by Guest Blogger – Kaitlin Buie
June 14, 2017
The nuances of abortion are not something readily discussed in our society. Abortion is a hot button issue that many people feel strongly about on both sides of the isle and I view this issue through a limited partisan lens, often ignoring both scientific and economic facts. One of the most strik...
Why Parental Alienation is Harmful and How to Avoid it
June 10, 2017
Parental alienation occurs when a child, during a high conflict divorce, aligns himself or herself on the side of one parent to the detriment of their relationship with/completely alienation of the other parent. There are concrete steps you can take to avoid this situation, as it is harmful for a...
Top 3 Nuggets of Wisdom to Share with Your Teenager
May 17, 2017
Independent thinking The ability to think outside the box is a skill that will serve your teen in almost all circumstances. This includes critical thinking, which must be fostered from a relatively young age. If you consistently impede your child's ability to create their own thoughts and opin...
Why Your Child May Be Refusing to See Their Other Parent
April 30, 2017
Depending on the nature of your custody arrangement, it is likely that your children are required to split time between two houses. Things can get complicated when your child may not want to go to one house or another. This refusal can occur for a wide variety of reasons and it is important to un...
What you need to hear before you decide to create a blended family
April 18, 2017
Everyone will not be happy While you and your new spouse may be blissfully happy it is important to recognize that most of the other members of the family are probably not approaching this transition from the same emotional place. It is important to not only recognize this but also behave acco...
Don’t Listen to Bad Advice
April 8, 2017
Most of the time unsolicited advice is innocuous, but in the case of divorce, advice from well meaning but misinformed people can be harmful. Encouraging acrimony Especially if you feel slighted by your divorce, it is likely that those around you may encourage you to “fight” or be intenti...
Co-Parenting and Camps by Karen Bonnell
April 4, 2017
Planning for summer two to three months in advance allows everyone in the family to prepare for, and enjoy summer with less stress, conflict and uncertainty. Once the summer schedule is set, parents may still make requests of one another for schedule changes in order to take advantage of spontan...
5 tips for single parents
March 30, 2017
1. Love yourself Being a single parent is incredibly daunting and you will be a thousand times more successful if you engage in self-care. In order to be a good parent, especially when doing the job solo, its important to be the best version of your self. This can only be achieved by loving you...