Overview

A practical, comprehensively researched guide to doing the best for your child during and after separation or divorce—from the bestselling author of Your Baby & Child, one of the world’s leading experts on child development and parenting. “Wide-ranging, incisive, and candid.... Lots of sound practical advice.” ­—Psychology Today Using the latest scientific research in child development, Penelope Leach details the effects of divorce on children in five stages of life—infants, toddlers, primary-school children, teenagers, and young adults—some of whom are far more deeply affected than previously thought. She explains recent studies that overturn common assumptions, showing, for example, that many standard custody arrangements for young children can be harmful. Leach’s advice is meticulously considered and exhaustive, covering everything from access, custody, and financial and legal considerations to managing separate sets of technology in two households, and she includes the voices of parents and children to illustrate her points. Above all, she holds up “mutual parenting” as the ideal way to co-parent after a divorce, offering concrete ways for parents to put responsiveness to their children’s needs ahead of their feelings about each other.

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9781101872192

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Reviews

“Wide-ranging, incisive, and candid. . . . Lots of sound practical advice.” ­—Psychology Today “Important. . . . Leach strikes the right balance between a hard-nosed examination of the data and a compassionate, let’s-make-this-work pragmatism.” —Kirkus Reviews “Leach encourages couples considering divorce to employ a ‘child-centeredness’ approach and consider each child as an individual. Her advice addresses a wide array of topics.” —Publishers Weekly

The recommendations in When Parents Part are wide-ranging, incisive, and candid . . . Lots of sound practical advice . . . Should command the attention of adults touched by separation and divorce . . . Leach has made a compelling case that when the family unit is broken, separated partners must do everything in their power to attend to the needs of their children, treat them like people rather than possessions, and commit to mutual (but not necessarily equal) parenting. Glenn C. Altschuler, Psychology Today Important . . . Leach thoughtfully structures the book, beginning with a breakdown of how children perceive, and are affected by, their parents separation at various ages, from baby to young adult. This structure allows the parents to jump right in and begin finding answers. Other, less-immediate family members receive the same consideration, and Leach provides an overview of legal and practical considerations before turning to the second part of the book, Separating Better or Worse. The author makes sure to maintain a child-centered approach, and she explores how to reinforce that approach in the face of alienation, partner conflict, and the processes of making a parenting plan and putting it into action. She also explores post-divorce difficulties and the constantly changing dynamics between parents and their children. Leach strikes the right balance between a hard-nosed examination of the data and a compassionate, let s-make-this-work pragmatism. This will allow parents to shore up their children s stability when it may feel like everything else is crumbling down. Kirkus Reviews Leach encourages couples considering divorce to employ a child-centeredness approach and consider each child as an individual. Her advice addresses a wide array of topics . . . The ample information offered here serves as a solid foundation for the steps Leach recommends. Publishers Weekly From the Hardcover edition.

Wide-ranging, incisive, and candid. . . . Lots of sound practical advice. Psychology Today Important. . . . Leach strikes the right balance between a hard-nosed examination of the data and a compassionate, let s-make-this-work pragmatism. Kirkus Reviews Leach encourages couples considering divorce to employ a child-centeredness approach and consider each child as an individual. Her advice addresses a wide array of topics. Publishers Weekly

Author Information

PENELOPE LEACH is a research psychologist, a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a visiting professor at Winchester University, and a Senior Research Fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London, and at the Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust. She has been president of the Child Minding Association, vice president of the Health Visitors’ Association, and president and chair of the Child Development Society. She has also been a consulting editor at Child magazine; a member of the Professional Advisory Council of the American Institute for Child, Adolescent, and Family Studies; and a member of the Curricula Board of Sesame Street.

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