Helping Your Kids Cope with Divorce the Sandcastles Way (U)

Divorce is painful and confusing. Perhaps now more than ever, you want to give your child all the love, support, and guidance he or she needs, but everything seems harder and more complicated. Helping Your Kids Cope with Divorce the Sandcastles Way can help. Based on Gary Neuman's phenomenally successful Sandcastles program, which has helped more than fifty thousand children cope with divorce, this warm, empathetic guide shows you How to build a co-parenting relationship even when you think you can't When you or your child should see a therapist Age-appropriate scripts for addressing sensitive issues What to do when a parent moves away How to stop fighting with your ex-spouse How to navigate the emotional turmoil of custody and visitation How to help your child deal with change How to cope with kids' common fears about separation How to introduce significant others into the family and help your child cope with a new stepfamilyMore than a hundred pieces of artwork from children of divorce will help you appreciate how kids perceive the experience. Dozens of special activities and fun exercises will help you communicate and get closer to your child. This guide shows you that divorce need not be an inevitable blot on children's lives, but an opportunity for them to grow and strengthen the bonds with their parents. Library Journal More than 20,000 children have taken part in the SandcastlesTM program, a method through which children of divorcing parents learn to cope with the breakup by meeting with each other and trained counselors. This program, completed in one 3.5-hour session, is available in Miami, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and dozens of other cities. Neuman, a couselor, rabbi, and creator of the SandcastlesTM program, encourages children to speak, draw, and write to help them express their feelings and realize that they are not alone, weird, or at fault. Here he writes for parents who may not have access to the sessions and want to help their children through the experience of divorce. This is a thorough guide, using the art, letters, prose, and expressions from children in SandcastlesTM programs across the country. Sidebars, quotations, "dos and don'ts," and surveys make it easy to read. Highly recommended for all parenting shelves.--Linda Beck, Indian Valley P.L., Telford, PA