Serving the needs of separated and divorcing families

The Coparents’ Communication Handbook

$12.95

The Coparent’s Communication Handbook is for any divorce or separated parent. This simple text will help improve the coparenting communication and communication between parent and child. The handbook provides a step by step approach to reduce conflict, set limits, make child-focused decisions while keeping your child out of the middle.

Description

“In writing The Coparents’ Communication Handbook, Boyan and Termini have made it easy for co-parents by thinking of everything already, with lots of lists and phrases ready to go. By answering twenty key questions, they cover methods of communication; what subjects need joint decisions; what words to use for positive responses; how to set limits; and much more. This book is brief, easy-to-read and filled with very specific tips that parents can apply right away.” Bill Eddy, LCSW

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139 pages

Table of Contents

Section I. Setting Up an Effective Communication System between Homes 

  1. Why do I need to communicate with my coparent?
  2. What should I consider when setting up a communication system?
  • Step 1: Degree of detail in your communication
  • Step 2: Frequency of your communication
  • Step 3: Method of communication
  • Step 4: Determine acceptable topics
  • Step 5: Evaluate the effectiveness of your plan
  1. What are the best communication methods?
  • E-mails
  • Text messages
  • Telephone calls
  • Face-to-face communication
  • Internet tools
  1. What communication method works best if I have a young child?
  2. What are other ways I may remain informed?
  • Your child’s school
  • Your child’s extracurricular activities
  • Your child’s medical professionals
  • Your child’s counselor
  • General tips for dealing with professionals
  1. Which topics are considered coparenting issues?
  • Coparenting topics
  • Inappropriate or off-limits topics

Section II. Improving Your Communication Skills

    7. How can I communicate more effectively?

  • Understanding “you” statements
  • Understanding “I” statements
  • How “I” statements help
  • “I” statements in disguise
  • Emotions versus thoughts
  • Judgments versus facts and descriptions
  • Tips for using “I” statements
  1. How can improving my listening skills help resolve issues?
  • Understanding active listening
  • When to use reflective listening
  • Validation
  • Reframing

Section III. Minimizing Parental Conflict

  1. How can I minimize parental conflict?
  • Action-reaction
  • What you can do instead
  • Other dilemmas
  • Avoiding communication barriers
  • More tips for reducing parental conflict
  1. How do I get a resistant coparent to agree upon a communication method?
  • Steps for setting communication protocol
  1. How do I set limits with an uncooperative coparent?
  • Types of boundaries
  • Typical divorce boundaries
  • Create an exit line
  • How and when to communicate limits
  1. What can I do when my coparent does not take me seriously?
  • Your coparent’s view of you
  • Strengthening word choice
  • Tips for strengthening word choice
  • Examples of strengthening your word choice
  1. What can I do if my coparent thinks I am demanding or unreasonable?
  • Tips for softening your word choice
  • Moving toward the middle
  1. How can I edit my written communication to avoid misunderstandings?
  • General tips to avoid written conflict
  • Specific editing tips to minimize written conflict
  1. How can we negotiate our differences more productively?
  • The seven steps of negotiation
  • Negotiation tips
  1. What can I do when all else fails to improve our coparenting relationship?
  • Coparenting counseling
  • Parenting coordination

Section IV. Parent-Child Communication

  1. What should I expect when communicating with my child?
  • Required calls
  • Privacy
  • Choosing a time to speak to your child
  • Using FaceTime and Skype
  • Reasonable length of communication with your child
  • Ultimate goal
  1. How can I make the conversation with my child more enjoyable?
  • Sharing information versus questioning
  • The art of inquiry
  • Other questions that may stimulate curiosity
  • When your child does not want to communicate with you
  1. How should I respond when my child tells me something negative?
  • General tips to avoid overreacting
  1. What are other ways to keep my child out of the middle?
  • Your child’s self-esteem

Section V. Resources

  • Divorce Rules for Parents
  • Coparenting Rules
  • Fair Fighting Rules for Coparents
  • Coparent Communication Tree: When to Contact Your Coparent
    • Communication templates
  • Books, websites, and apps
    • Coparenting books
    • Books for children on divorce and separation
    • Coparenting communication websites
    • Other parenting and coparenting websites
    • Coparenting apps
  • Bibliography

 

The Coparents’ Communication Handbook
$12.95