In this episode of the Children First Family Law podcast, Krista Nash talks with Dr. Don Gordon, a clinical child psychologist and Executive Director of the Center for Divorce Education. Dr. Gordon shares how his personal experience with high-conflict divorce shaped his mission to help families reduce stress and improve parent-child relationships through evidence-based education.

Their conversation centers around “Children in Between,” a widely used court-mandated parenting program, and its new companion course for kids. Dr. Gordon explains why emotional literacy, stress reduction, and safe communication are critical tools for children during separation and divorce. He also discusses the neuroscience of fight-or-flight responses in parents, how to interrupt reactive behaviors, and why involving kids in conversations about their feelings changes outcomes for life.

Divorce doesn’t have to break a child’s emotional foundation if we give families the tools to manage it with care.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Parents need training for co-parenting under stress, not just general parenting
• Children benefit when they learn how to name, share, and manage emotions
• Divorce stress impacts a child’s long-term relationships and mental health
• Online programs can support families with low-cost, effective tools
• Teaching emotional regulation improves how parents and kids relate
• Kids internalize conflict when they feel caught between two parents
• Loyalty conflicts do more harm than divorce itself
• Involving both parents in emotional coaching gives kids double the support
• When parents model calm responses, kids learn resilience
• Proactive education reduces litigation and emotional fallout

Resources from this Episode

www.childreninbetweenforkids.com

www.childreninbetween.com

online.divorce-education.com

www.childrenfirstfamilylaw.com

All states have different laws; be sure you are checking out your state laws specifically surrounding divorce. Krista is a licensed attorney in Colorado and Wyoming but is not providing through this podcast legal advice. Please be sure to seek independent legal counsel in your area for your specific situation.

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Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

In today’s episode of Children First Family Law, Krista welcomes retired New York Judge, Peggy Walsh, who brings decades of experience from both the Family and Supreme Courts. Judge Walsh unpacks how New York’s family law system centers children’s voices in custody cases and what the rest of the country can learn from it.

Krista and Judge Walsh explore how attorneys for children play an active role in advocating for a child’s stated preferences, even when they differ from best interest arguments. They also compare New York’s court structure with Colorado’s, explore trauma-informed judicial practices, and reflect on how systems either empower or silence young voices. Judge Walsh shares how she approached in-camera interviews with children and how her bench experience now informs her work as a coach for co-parents navigating conflict.

When a child tells their attorney what they want, that’s not just testimony. It’s a window into what makes sense for that child’s life.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Child attorneys in New York reflect what the child wants, not what adults believe is best
• Best interest and expressed interest often overlap, but not always
• New York courts offer every child legal representation at no cost
• Judges rely on in-camera interviews to hear from children directly
• Ethical representation includes guiding children without overriding them
• Professionalism in family court matters more than persuasion
• Trauma-informed courts reduce harm during high-conflict litigation
• Courts trust parents to decide, and judges step in only when needed
• Kids in the middle of conflict often show internal distress
• Co-parenting coaching offers an alternative to repeated litigation

Resources from this Episode

peggywalsh.com

thecoparentcoach.com

www.childrenfirstfamilylaw.com

All states have different laws; be sure you are checking out your state laws specifically surrounding divorce. Krista is a licensed attorney in Colorado and Wyoming but is not providing through this podcast legal advice. Please be sure to seek independent legal counsel in your area for your specific situation.

Follow and Review:

We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

In today’s episode of the Children First Family Law podcast, Krista Nash welcomes Allen Levy, an Anchorage-based mental health professional and parenting educator, for a direct and thoughtful discussion on how to parent after divorce. Allen draws from over two decades of work with high-conflict families to explain why parenting after separation needs to be treated as a job share, not an emotional battleground.

He shares the framework behind his post-separation parenting curriculum, which was developed through years of real-world experience and is now utilized in workshops, therapy sessions, and court-ordered education. This approach teaches parents to focus on four core duties: communication, decision-making, problem-solving, and conflict resolution across key parenting domains like education, healthcare, and family routines.

Through structured rules, concrete strategies, and clear analogies, Allen reframes co-parenting as professional conduct, not emotional entanglement. The result? Less conflict, fewer court battles, and healthier kids.

You don’t need both parents to change. When one parent acts with professionalism, it can shift everything.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Parent-child relationships must come before parent-to-parent conflict
• Parenting is a job with duties, boundaries, and standards
• Effective communication focuses on children, not personal grievances
• Shift changes (custody exchanges) should feel routine and drama-free
• Parallel parenting can work even when co-parenting is unrealistic
• Focus on behaviors, not blame or psychological explanations
• Avoid the trap of sharing emotional information with your ex
• Protect kids from conflict by removing them from the middle
• Redefine success by how well parents manage the job, not how they feel
• One parent can shift the dynamic, even if the other won’t change

Resources from this Episode

www.childrenfirstfamilylaw.com

All states have different laws; be sure you are checking out your state laws specifically surrounding divorce. Krista is a licensed attorney in Colorado and Wyoming but is not providing through this podcast legal advice. Please be sure to seek independent legal counsel in your area for your specific situation.

Follow and Review:

We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.