Separation and family changes

A separation ends a couple, not a family: it changes the family. This topic is about supporting your teen when the adults separate, when life gets organized around two homes or when a new partner arrives.

What weighs most on a teen is usually not the separation. It's being caught in the middle between the adults.

If there has been violence in the relationship or toward your teen, safety comes first. Several ideas in this topic, such as reaching agreement with the other parent, don't apply in the same way. Start with the resource "When you can't reach agreement, or your teen is really struggling."