Putting Children First: A Guide for Parents Breaking Up

Jane Heath teaches psychology at Ryerson Polytechnical University in
Toronto.

Described by its authors as a survival kit, Putting Children First is a
comprehensive, well-organized, and accessible guide to surviving
separation and divorce in relatively good shape. The authors focus on
conflict avoidance, management, and resolution as they deal with such
issues as grieving, moving on, making a parenting plan, negotiating
living arrangements, decisionmaking, shared-time issues, and, as a last
resort, litigation. The effects of divorce on children of all ages are
addressed. Among the book’s reader-friendly features are the summary
of key points at the end of each chapter, questionnaires designed to
help readers clarify their feelings and goals, and diagrams that
illustrate the authors’ positions. Throughout their informative and
carefully researched book, McDonough and Bartha are sensitive to the
difficulties parents face when negotiating divorce but at the same time
emphatic about their responsibility to protect their children.