Shows
Co-Parent DilemmasS5.E19. Plan B Challenges! When Plan A is Not an OptionHave a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERETexas listener, Christa, answers a challenge Diane made in a previous episode to give her any dilemma, and she would suggest a viable Plan B. Diane & Rick discuss whether or not what Christa presents are co-parenting dilemmas or general parenting issues, and they provide suggestions accordingly. They also discuss the DRAGON method of devising a Plan B.This Week’s GOOD NEWS STORY:...2025-01-1939 minCo-Parent DilemmasS4.E39. Should Dad Hold On or Let Go of This Conflict?Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREJohn asks the all-important question, “Should I fight?” Diane & Rick break down the risks and benefits of letting go vs. holding on to the conflict. They explore the complexity of balancing children’s needs with parental rights and conclude that so much depends on the type and temperament of the other parent. S4.E34. is the show Diane refers to in this episode about how to dec...2024-05-1951 minCo-Parent DilemmasS4.E21. Fifth Weekend Dilemma: A Good Case for Letting GoHave a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREIn another episode in the parenting plan disaster series, Diane & Rick review Camile’s parenting plan language about 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekends. They discuss the problems with wording that seems fair in its attempt, but destined to create all kinds of unnecessary conflict. They provide a definition of “good faith” that would confuse the most astute legal scholar. Diane also shares her “Five Parenting Plan Commandments”. Who...2024-01-1437 minCo-Parent DilemmasS4.E10. Part Two: An Inside Look into Family Court HearingsHave a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREAs a follow up to Part One, Diane and Rick describe the family court hearing they recently attended and interview one of the parties. They get a first-hand perspective about the personal devastation these types of cases cause, even when there is a capable judge in place. How does it feel to prepare for years for a final hearing, only to be completely deflated by an out-of-touch judge? Find ou...2023-10-2959 minCo-Parent DilemmasS4.E9. Part One: Holding Family Court Judges AccountableHave a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREDiane & Rick report on a recent court hearing they attended, in which the judge admonished the parties to never come back to the court, if they knew what was best for the children. Diane questions what that really means. Is that possible? What if you have no choice? How can judges have so much power to affect the lives of innocent parties who really don’t want to be in...2023-10-2239 minCo-Parent DilemmasS4.E1. Closing One Chapter and Opening AnotherHave a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREDiane & Rick begin Season 4 with the final chapter of the Case from Hell. If you haven’t listened to Season 2, binge it before listening to this emotional episode that describes Diane’s experience attending Sarah’s final hearing. This is the perfect episode to kick off our Parental Alienation month in September. Get ready to hear how we plan to hold courts accountable in these complex cases w...2023-08-271h 06Co-Parent DilemmasS3.E21. The Distress Call from Your Child: Ignore or Rescue?Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREDiane & Rick explore the subject of what to do when a child calls from the other home, complaining about your co-parent and seems distressed. How do you determine if it is serious or just venting? Do you stop answering after more than one call? Do you rescue your child or just validate their experience? The hosts break down this complicated issue into practical advice. Want to...2023-05-2837 minCo-Parent DilemmasS3.E17. When You Can’t Convince Your Co-Parent to Be a ParentHave a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREListener Brittany writes to share her experience of using our DRAGON method to solve her childcare issue, rather than trying to convince her co-parent to help out. Diane & Rick discuss the value and emotional freedom of finding a Plan B. Diane shares her personal stories of struggling with resolving her own co-parent dilemmas back in the day. To find out more about Care.com, as mentioned in t...2023-04-3032 minCo-Parent DilemmasS3.E15. Can’t Beat ‘Em? Join ‘Em!Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREDiane &Rick answer Jennifer’s question about her co-parent letting the children watch rated “R” horror movies. They discuss the importance of not fighting against what is out of her control, but finding a way to show interest with the kids to start a meaningful conversation. Also discussed is how the anxious parent can be interpreted as controlling and their co-parent rebelling instead of using good common sense. 2023-04-1627 minCo-Parent DilemmasS3. E14. Breaking Dependence on Your Co-ParentHave a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERETodd emails a question about convincing the court to order a communication protocol or app. He wonders if he should fight for it or let it go. And by the way, he says his co-parent is a narcissist! Diane & Rick talk about the fallacy of thinking there is a way for anyone (including the court) to make a difficult co-parent do anything he/she doesn’t want to do. In...2023-04-0933 minCo-Parent DilemmasS3.E13. Playing Nice with Your Co-Parent after an Affair: Not!Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREDiane & Rick welcome podcaster Karen McMahon on this episode to discuss Lauren’s email about co-parenting with her cheating ex. What is the expectation when you have been betrayed? How do you help your children who also may feel angry about it? Also discussed is the difference between a therapist and a coach. The three hosts discuss how to find good professionals in the midst of betrayal. T...2023-04-0248 minCo-Parent DilemmasS3.E12. The Ultimate Boundary for the NarcissistHave a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREJenny shares her frustration with her narcissistic co-parent, who would rather she disappear than exercise her parenting time. But Jenny isn’t giving up, despite her physical limitations due to a brain injury. Diane & Rick share powerful words of encouragement for Jenny and anyone who is willing to think of what children need instead of how to combat the narcissism. They remind listeners that custody does not equal good pa...2023-03-2629 minCo-Parent DilemmasS3.E11. But Things Were Going So Well! Enter the girlfriend…Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREChris writes in and says things were going very well for him and his co-parent until he started dating seriously after several years post divorce. He did everything right, but now things have gone horribly wrong. What is happening to his co-parent relationship? Diane & Rick break it down. Wholesome TV Picks: Stop Wasting Time, Start Watching Shows You TrustFamily-friendly TV & movie recs from...2023-03-1934 minCo-Parent DilemmasS3.E10. Help! I’m Stuck Between a Borderline Co-Parent and an Enraged SpouseHave a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREDiane & Rick address John’s email about how to help his 16-year-old son when he and the son are stuck between mom and step-mom’s conflict. Discussed in this episode are ways to build a relationship with a teen who isolates to avoid conflict and the importance of strengthening the marital bond to deal with the stresses of a blended family. Wholesome TV Picks: Stop Wast...2023-03-1235 minCo-Parent DilemmasS3.E9. Is it Worth Going to Court?Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREHow do you know when it’s a good idea to seek the court’s help with co-parenting issues? Diane & Rick discuss four things to consider as they process listener Jess’s questions about her uncooperative co-parent. She was hoping he would be more agreeable after divorce, but is finding that he shuts down every request, including moving from homeschooling to public education for their young daughter. 2023-03-0533 minCo-Parent DilemmasS3.E8. What to Do with All That Anger! Putting your narcissistic co-parent in perspectiveHave a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREKelvin rants about how his narcissistic co-parent steals his credit as a parent and is constantly inserting herself into his life. He asks what he should do with all of his anger. Diane & Rick explore managing expectations, finding humor in the narcissist personality, and visualization techniques to manage negative emotions in the present. Wholesome TV Picks: Stop Wasting Time, Start Watching Shows You Trust...2023-02-2633 minCo-Parent DilemmasS3.E7. Romance and Co-Parenting: It’s Complicated!Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREEva emails the show and asks how to move forward with the love of her life and maintain both of their children’s school and activity schedules. The issue is, they live 90 minutes apart from one another. In order to move in together, they either must get their co-parents to agree to a custody change or put their dreams on hold. Diane & Rick discuss the importance of prioritizing children’s ne...2023-02-1933 minCo-Parent DilemmasS3.E6. The Impossible DilemmaHave a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREBethany calls in with a frustrating dilemma, and Jeff emails about a similar frustration. Diane & Rick discuss how difficult it is to be placed in a position of choosing your own peace vs. your child’s emotional welfare. This seemingly impossible dilemma is quite common among high conflict co-parents, and it requires a logical view of multiple variables to makes sense of what feels senseless....2023-02-1236 min