Don and Betty Draper are getting a divorce – and parents around the globe are watching in dismay. While the stars of Mad Men are just characters in a popular TV drama, the way these two very self-absorbed parents broke the news to their children was heart-breaking and eye-opening at the same time.

Not surprisingly, most viewers picked up on how poorly this major life challenge was handled by both Don and Betty. Looking over their shoulders we can gasp at their insensitivity to the plight of their children, grimace at their poor communication skills and wonder what they were thinking as they sat together as a family in the formal living room.

When the situation comes home and touches our own lives, however, it appears our perspective gets fuzzy and we easily lose our awareness about how dramatically the children are being affected.

Fortunately there is much we can learn from watching the errors Don and Betty made as they stumbled through the conversation. Here’s some sound and sane advice (Continue Reading …)

Rosalind Sedacca, CCT, was announced the first place inner of the 2008 Victorious Woman Award. The international competition was created by Annmarie Kelly, author of Victorious Woman! Shaping Life’s Challenges into Personal Victories. A panel of judges made the winning selections.

Sedacca is recognized as The Voice of Child-Centered Divorce and is the author of the new book, How Do I Tell the Kids about the Divorce? A Create-a-Storybook Guide to Preparing Your Children — with Love! Her winning essay was taken from the first chapter of her book in which she shares her personal story about the trauma of (Continue Reading …)