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Having an amazing relationship with your child is the foundation for everything we want to accomplish as parents. Here’s how to make that happen.
- Be real. Great relationships are built upon honesty, caring, and communication. Be genuine with your child. Never say one thing when you mean another. Accept the reality that sometimes the truth may hurt. The uneasiness caused by honesty is better than the comfort resulting from deceit.
- Show interest. The way kids know that we care about them is when we show interest in their activities, thoughts and feelings. Solicit their opinions, but avoid questions that can be answered by a simple yes or no. Try beginning sentences with “what,” or “how.” Don’t barrage your child with questions. They will feel interrogated and tune out.
- Share information about yourself. Your goal is to build a relationship, not get into your child’s head. Conversations are a mutual sharing of ideas and feelings. This doesn’t mean a fifteen-minute lecture about the hardships you experienced as a child. Keep your comments brief, and respond to what’s of interest to your child.This will be uncomfortable at times. How
I couple weeks ago, I attended a very exciting and thrilling divorce seminar (said no one ever) where a portion of it was dedicated to giving an update on divorce court forms to reflect gender neutral identifiers for the divorce parties. For example, instead of using husband and wife, the court forms will now use spouse 1 and spouse 2 or other similar gender neutral identifiers. I still say the classic Plaintiff and Defendant identifiers are easier, but it is not my courthouse.
On January 31, 2015, we posted an article “
The Supreme Court of New Hampshire recently held that courts may consider premarital cohabitation when considering the division of a same-sex couple’s assets. In the Matter of Deborah Munson and Coral Beal, the New Hampshire court was faced with a divorce and division of assets of a same-sex couple who lived together for 15 years before a civil union was held, followed by a marriage three years later. During the 15 years before the marriage, the couple essentially acted and functioned as a married couple, both socially and financially. However, the trial court awarded Beal limited alimony and a small percent of the marital estate based upon the short duration of the marriage. Upon appeal, her attorneys argued that the district court should have considered the 15 years the couple cohabitated prior to the marriage.
This week President Obama signed the instrument of ratification to the 2007 Hague Child Support and Maintenance Convention addressing International Recovery of Child Support. This international child support signing was accomplished in great part due to the extensive work done by US family lawyers, by the Hague Convention on Private International Law, and by many others.
While it has always been a great responsibility to serve as a legal guardian for another individual, last year Ohio imposed a number of additional requirements of guardians in an effort to protect the welfare and safety of those wards to whom they serve. These protections are both financial and personal.