From the Book: Divorce Amicably
This is a chapter summary from Chapter 6 of  Divorce Amicably, a guide to navigating separation with dignity and cooperation.
Chapter 28 Author: Kathleen Shack
Kathleen Shack, M.S., LMFT, has been in practice for over 21 years. She is an experienced Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Gottman Couples Therapist, Certified Discernment Counselor, Divorce Coach, Co-Parenting counselor, and Mediator. She helps individuals, couples, and families minimize the negative and find lasting solutions that work for their family. Kathleen helps people find inner strength and gives them tools which they can use to navigate their world. Using the Gottman Method, Kathleen guides couples on how to build and maintain healthy relationships. Discernment Counseling helps couples on the brink of divorce to gain clarity and confidence about the direction of their relationship.
Chapter 28's Age-by-Age Guide to Supporting Children Through Divorce
Children don't just experience divorce differently based on personality—their developmental stage fundamentally shapes how they interpret, internalize, and respond to family changes. In this comprehensive chapter, licensed marriage and family therapist Kathleen Shack provides an invaluable age-by-age breakdown from infancy through emerging adulthood, revealing exactly what children understand, fear, and need at each developmental milestone. This isn't generic advice about "being there" for your children; it's a precise roadmap showing how a toddler's magical thinking differs from a teenager's fear of commitment, and why strategies that comfort a preschooler might harm a preteen.
Shack exposes the hidden signs of distress that parents often miss or misinterpret—from the infant whose fussiness signals disrupted trust to the high-achieving nine-year-old whose perfect grades mask deep anxiety about keeping parents happy. Through detailed developmental profiles, she demonstrates how divorce intersects with each stage's primary psychological tasks, creating unique vulnerabilities and opportunities for support. Most importantly, this chapter provides specific, actionable parental responses tailored to each age group, ensuring your support matches your child's actual developmental needs rather than your assumptions about what helps.
Four Age-Specific Insights from Chapter 28
Who Needs Chapter 28's Developmental Framework
This chapter is absolutely essential for any divorcing parent who's noticed behavioral changes in their children but can't decode what they mean, those receiving conflicting advice about what's "normal" for their child's age, or parents whose children seem fine on the surface but who worry about hidden impacts. It's crucial reading for those with children at multiple developmental stages who need different approaches for each child.
Perfect for parents who want to anticipate and prevent age-specific problems before they emerge, those struggling to explain divorce in age-appropriate ways, and anyone whose child's reaction doesn't match what parenting books describe. Whether you have an infant who won't stop crying, a teenager who won't stop fighting, or an adult child questioning marriage itself, Shack's developmental framework provides the understanding needed to support each child effectively.
Get your copy of "Divorce Amicably" today and learn how to provide the exact support your child needs at their specific developmental stage—because a one-size-fits-all approach to helping children through divorce fits no one.
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