Page 11 - Meeting with Children Book

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child should ever be asked to choose between their
parents and that is not what the child voice is about.

So how do we meet with a child and listen to their
needs, and not create the obligation for the child to
make a choice between or for their parents?

This book is built around a few key themes:
 Children and youth express thoughts and feeling
through symbols and metaphor.
 Children and youth can voice opinions about
their experience of their parents’ disagreements,
without expressing a wish about which parent
they prefer, which parent they agree with or
which parent they would prefer to live with.
 Children have important things to say about
themselves post-separation that may not have
anything to do with their parents.
 The views expressed by a child are private to that
child and may or may not be discussed with
parents, according to practitioner judgment and
the child’s wishes.
 Across all jurisdictions our work with families is
becoming more difficult. Family complexity
seems to be increasing. Getting our work right
requires greater skills and expertise than ever
before.
 Separation and post separation is a high-risk time
for families. Collaboration across the traditional
silos of the family law sector is necessary to
ensure that family and individual safety is not
compromised.