Resolution Good Divorce Week 2018

This week is Resolution’s annual Good Divorce Week. This year the focus is on how separating parents can improve their communication in order to minimise the impact of conflict on their children.

Research shows that chronic conflict between parents impacts children in both the short and long term. Shielding children from conflict can help ease their adjustment to their parents’ separation.

Resolution has produced a Parenting Charter. It offers parents a helpful list of reminders about children’s rights and needs. If you and your ex are in the middle of making arrangements for your children, you might find it helpful to keep the charter in mind when making those decisions.

Resolution’s Parenting Charter

Our children have the right to:

• be at the centre of any decisions made about their lives
• feel and be loved and cared for by both parents
• know and have contact with both sides of their families, including any siblings who may not live with them, as long as they are safe
• a childhood, including freedom from the pressures of adult concerns such as financial worries
• financial support and protection from poverty
• support and encouragement in all aspects of their lives, including their education, as well as their physical and mental well-being
• form and express their own views on any matter affecting them
• be kept informed about matters in an age-appropriate manner
• privacy and respect for their feelings, including the way they feel about each of their parents 
• protection from information and material, including that found online, which may be harmful to them
• protection from harm, and from adults who might do them harm

Separating from a partner is a very significant, life changing event that brings with it many challenges, particularly for parents. However, if parents feel well and supported themselves, they will be in the best possible place to provide the care their children require, to support them through the separation and to make informed and sensible decisions about their family’s future. One of the most important and often overlooked things by a parent is to make sure they are receiving the support they need to ensure they are feeling well both mentally and physically. You can find our suggestions of professionals who can work with parents here. Alternatively, pick up the phone and speak to one of our experienced children lawyers here at Mills & Reeve who will be able to point you in the right direction.

This blog is part of a series of blogs written by our specialist children lawyers for Resolution’s Good Divorce Week 2018. Look out for blogs later this week dealing with online support for separating parents, practical suggestions for managing the long-term co-parenting relationship with your ex and tips on sorting out arrangements for Christmas.