If you're a father going through a divorce and you want to maintain a great relationship with your kids, you need the practical advice that Being a Great Divorced Father offers. Learn how to build a life after your divorce, with your kids' needs at the forefront, including:
communicating effectively with your ex
managing babysitters, after-school care, and other details of daily life
Maintain a great relationship with your kids during and after divorce
More than half of all marriages end in divorce, many with kids caught in the middle. If you're a father going through divorce and you want to keep a close relationship with your children, you need practical guidance and advice on building a new life, keeping your kids' needs front and center.
Being a Great Divorced Father gives you the strategies and building blocks for maintaining a relationship with your children and shows you how to prioritize their needs as your life changes. Learn how to:
create a new home and make room for your kids in it
manage babysitters, after-school care and other details of daily life
create and enforce house rules governing homework, TV, game use, and recreation
communicate effectively with your ex: being nice, sparing the kids, establishing boundaries, and finding ways to agree
settle legal and custody issues
handle dating and remarriage
Being a Great Divorced Father helps you create an extended family by cooperating and collaborating with your former spouse, and prioritizing your children's needs, all written by a dad who's been there. Plus, read insightful examples of families who have met the challenges of divorce transition with success.
“We’ve never seen a Nolo book we didn’t like.” - Small Business Opportunities
“The nation’s largest publisher of self-help legal books and software.” - The Wall Street Journal
ISBN
9781413312645
Number of Pages
272
Customer Reviews
Add Your Own Review
Introduction - Lemons into Lemonade
A Chance for Growth
Getting Started
It's All About the Kids
Chapter One - Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
One Last Try
Honoring the Bonds of Our Children
Taking Care of Yourself
Who Moves Out?
Leave the Lawyer Stuff for Later if You Can
Money, Money, Money, Money
Hang In There
Chapter Two - Creating Your New Home
Making a Home
Location, Location, Location
Make Room for the Kids
What's Cookin'?
Excuse Me! Do I Look Like a Taxi?
Remember You're Human
Taking Stock
Chapter Three - Daily Life as a Single Dad
A Typical Day
On Less-Than-Ideal Days
Managing the Details
Caring for Your Kids
Baby Sitters and After-School Care
Homework, TV, Games, & Leisure
"Right Speech" and Staying Focused on the Future
Chapter Four - The Noncustodial Dance
Dealing with the Changes
Some Things Don't Change
Staying Connected
Different Voices, Different Homes
Establishing Your House Rules
Getting Flexible at Work
Show Up When You Say You Will
Presence, Not Presents
Chapter Five - Ex-Communications: 10 Ways to Make Talking to Your Ex Easier
1. Be Nice
2. Spare the Kids
3. Get Help
4. Take 24
5. Create Clear Boundaries
6. Don't Try to Change Her
7. Find Ways to Agree
8. Listen to Your Ex-Spouse without Defending Yourself
9. Let Your Ex Have Her Way While Not Giving Up Yours
10. Ask for What You Want
11. Bonus Advice: Ground Rules for Face-to-Face Meetings
Chapter Six - Settling Up: Legal and Custody Issues
The High Cost of Conflict
The Basics of the Legal Divorce
Dividing the Pie: Spousal Support and Property Division
How to Choose an Attorney
Making a Paper Trail
When You Have to Fight
Assume the Impossible Is Possible
Don't Underestimate Your Stress
Opportunities for Personal Growth
Chapter Seven - Let's Get Real About the Kids
Becoming the Parent You Want to Be
Keeping Your Kids Out of the Fray
Setting Limits
Watching for Signs of Stress in Your Kids
Our Teenagers, Ourselves
Chapter Eight - Keeping Yourself Together
Recognizing and Managing Stress
10 Not-So-Hard-and-Fast Rules for Managing Stress
Recognizing and Managing Depression
Choosing Your Problems
Letting Go of Your Problems
Don't Go It Alone
Chapter Nine - Birthdays and Holidays
Happy Birthday for All
Have a Happy Holiday
10 Tips for Keeping Birthdays and Holidays Sane and Happy
Chapter Ten - Kids, Friends, Dating, and Lovers
The Dating Game: Ready or Not?
Back in the Game
Dating and Your Ex
Introducing Your New Love to the Kids
You're the Boss of You
When Your Ex Starts Dating
Chapter Eleven - Taking a Chance on Love Again: Remarriage and Blending Families