Why Do Families Change? By Dr Jillian Roberts and Cindy Revell, Orca Book Publishers, 2017. ‘A reassuring and straightforward explanation of separation and divorce.’ Are you and your family experience separation or divorce and don’t know how to talk to your children about it? Why Do Families Change? opens with ‘Many animals in nature choose lifelong mates’. On the opening double page spread, we see three sets of paired birds and three sets of paired couples, including one same-sex couple. The following page continues in this light with more couples from different cultures getting married, as well as another same-sex couple. It stresses that some couples choose to have a common-law relationship where they live together but don’t actually get married. Why Do Families Change? presents a very open-minded view of the different types of relationships that are possible. It gently introduces children to the fact that some people stay married for their whole lives, while others separate or divorce. The story goes on to explain what separation is, and what divorce is, and why these changes can happen. Why Do Families Change? addresses the all-important issue that many children face, ‘Is it my fault?’. No matter how old your children are, there…

Living with Mum and Living with Dad: My Two Homes By Melanie Walsh, Walker Books, 2012. ‘My mum and dad don’t live together anymore so sometimes I live with my mum and sometimes with my dad.’ Separation and divorce are always difficult subjects to broach with young children. This is the ideal picture book for very small children to help them understand and navigate the changes are or will be occurring during parental divorce. Living with Mum and Living with Dad: My Two Homes is a lift-the-flap book that offers a level of interactivity with things to find under flaps within the pages. The flaps are also used as a device to help show some of the differences between the child’s two homes. Living with Mum and Living with Dad: My Two Homes aims to reassure your child that while there may be changes and differences to life moving forward, everything is going to be ok. Even with the differences, there are still some things that remain familiar, such as the child’s favourite toys that she can take to both houses, the love of both parents, and the extended family. The love of both parents equally is a common theme throughout…

Mum and Dad Glue By Kes Gray and Lee Wildish, Hodder Children’s Books, 2000. ‘A little boy searches for a pot of parent glue to stick his mum and dad’s marriage back together. But he soon realises that even though his parents may be broken, their love for him is not.’ Mum and Dad Glue is a clever rhyming story of the little boy’s journey to the realisation that, while he can’t put his parents back together, he can still be happy. In the early pages, the illustrations show cracks through everything; the car, the soccer ball, the skateboard, the house, and the brick wall. The words read, ‘Mum and dad are broken…’ The little boy engages on a mission to find a glue that he can use to fix his parents. You can feel the desperation of the child who is frantically trying to think of ways to mend his parent’s marriage. The gentle rhyme helps in softening an often difficult and painful subject for your child. A common thing that we see with children of broken marriages is that the child often blames themselves. This little boy is no different. He battles with wondering if he is the…