How To Co-Parent So You Don't F*ck Up Your Kids with Christina McGhee

Episode 121

Divorce is often treated as the end of the story, but what happens after the separation, when the real work of navigating co-parenting begins? In this episode, we sit down with Christina McGee, renowned divorce parenting expert and author of Parenting Apart: How Separated and Divorced Parents Can Raise Happy and Secure Kids. With over 20 years of experience supporting families through change, Christina reminds us that divorce doesn’t make you a bad parent, it simply means you’re a parent navigating a tough chapter.

Join us for an honest and deeply practical convo of what it means to redefine “family” when the old scripts of custody battles, “my time,” and visitation as a commodity, no longer serve us or our children. Erin and Christina dig into:

Why terms like “custody” and “visitation” turn parenting into a transaction and how shifting to “parenting time” can center kids and reduce emotional strain
How kids come to take on the emotional burden of divorce, especially when parents get stuck on splitting time "equally"
Why 50/50 custody isn’t one-size-fits-all and how to build a parenting plan that actually works for your child
What to do when your values clash with your co-parent’s discipline style and how to respond with empathy instead of reactivity
Concrete strategies for holding space for big feelings, validating your kid’s emotions, protecting their right to love both parents, and avoiding the blame game
How to lean into your co-parent’s strengths (even if they’re not your strengths) so your child feels supported from all sides

OUR GUEST: Christina McGhee is a divorce-parenting expert who believes divorce doesn’t make you a bad parent—just a parent going through a tough time. For over 20 years, she’s helped families and professionals keep the focus on what matters most: the kids. She’s the author of Parenting Apart: How Separated and Divorced Parents Can Raise Happy and Secure Kids, creator of the Co-Parenting Specialist™ Certification Program, and Education Director for the SPLIT Outreach Project, which produced the acclaimed Split documentary films. Learn more at divorceandchildren.com or coparentingspecialist.com.

Want more Christina? Find her online at www.divorceandchildren.com and www.coparentingspecialist.com. Check out her Book: “Parenting Apart: How Separated and Divorced Parents Can Raise Happy and Secure Kids” on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2MK4Mya

Follow her on:

IG: @divorceandchildren
Facebook: @divorceandchildren
Linkedin: @christinamcghee

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Podcast Episode Details

How To Co-Parent So You Don't F*ck Up Your Kids with Christina McGhee