(1888PressRelease)
December 08, 2007 - Boynton Beach, FL: Every parent facing divorce dreads that first “divorce talk” – how to break the news to their children. Now a parent who tackled that challenge in a unique way more than a decade ago is sharing her innovative approach. Rosalind Sedacca’s new book, How Do I Tell the Kids about the Divorce? A Create-a-Storybook Guide to Preparing Your Children – with Love! doesn’t just tell parents what to say. It says it for them!
Parents are guided in preparing an attractive personal family storybook, in a photo-album-type format, that children will want to read and reread. Sedacca’s two fill-in-the-blank templates (targeted for ages 5 to 10 or 10 to 15) talk about the family’s past, present and future, reminding children that change, while often frightening, is a natural part of life. Using age-appropriate language, the text conveys the essential messages parents need to share – and children need to hear again and again.
These vital messages include:
1. This is not your fault
2. Mom and Dad will always love you
3. Mom and Dad will always be your Mom and Dad
4. You are, and will continue to be, safe
5. This is about change, not about blame
6. Everything is going to be okay.
The customizable guidebook also includes commentary and support from six therapists who share valuable advice, based on their professional experience, which parents can immediately put to use.
Divorce attorneys, therapists, mediators, educators, clergy and other professionals throughout the U.S. and beyond have given Sedacca their enthusiastic endorsements and are recommending her fill-in-the-blanks guidebook to their clients. Many of these endorsements can be seen at http://howdoitellthekids.com.
“Some parents put more preparation into a party than they do in telling their children about a pending separation or divorce,” notes Sedacca, a Certified Corporate Trainer who has facilitated interpersonal relationship workshops around the country for the past fifteen years.
“I believe they are doing their children a great disservice. By preparing a storybook in advance, about your family with your family’s photos, parents give their children an anchor – something to hold on to that reminds them that they are safe and loved. The storybook approach also eliminates the awkwardness of not knowing what to say,” Sedacca adds, “while you are confidently providing the essential messages your children need to understand and absorb.”
Sedacca’s son was eleven at the time of the divorce and is now a veterinary cardiologist. He wrote a moving Introduction to the book, personally acknowledging the effectiveness of this unique approach to such a tough conversation.
“One of the most gratifying moments in my life came when my son, as a young adult, confided to me that he understood why his Dad I divorced,” says Sedacca. “While he was naturally very upset at the time, he told me he could now see it was the right decision for us all. He also thanked me for maintaining a positive interactive relationship with his Dad through the years that followed -- what I now refer to as a Child-Centered Divorce.”
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