Parental Separation
A new free app to support separating parents is now available in Lancashire.
Separating better will equip parents with the practical information and emotional skills they need to help them self-manage their separation and put arrangements in place that work in the best interests of their children.
It has been created by relationship experts at OnePlusOne, a leading relationship research and innovation charity. They were awarded funding from the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Reducing Parental Conflict Challenge Fund 2 to create the app.
Alongside practical tools which offer help with budgeting and legal arrangements, parents can also use Separating better to create their own parenting plan, considering the different needs their children may have. Other app features include:
- A series of specially created Work it out videos showing typical co-parenting situations and the impact poorly handled parental conflict can have on children. The videos use Behaviour Modelling Training techniques to help parents to learn better conflict management and communication skills – parents will see a family situation going badly before seeing how it could be handled in a better way.
- An emotional readiness quiz to help parents reflect on where they are emotionally in their separation journey and set personal goals to help them as they progress through the app.
- Evidence-based articles offering expert advice on many aspects of separation and co-parenting.
Lancashire County Council
PO Box 100, County Hall, Preston, PR1 0LD
The app is now available to download for free from app stores and offers an accessible and sustainable solution to help parents navigate the process of separation and co-parent effectively.
Verity Glasgow, CEO of OnePlusOne, said: “Separating better pulls together decades of research and expertise in supporting separating couples and equipping them with skills to resolve conflict and improve communication so that they can co-parenting effectively.
“The heart of this app is to help parents to continue doing what’s right for their children, while navigating the emotional and practical challenges of separating. Our aim has been to help make this process as smooth as possible by giving parents the advice they need in a single app that they can access at any time that suits them.”
In addition to the app, which can be downloaded from app stores or OnePlusOne’s website, Lancashire residents also have access to the Children and Family Wellbeing (CFW) Healthy Relationships course. A 6-week course to improve communication resolution and understand how arguments affect children. Parents who attended the course stated.
”I feel this is a really good course & I’ve really enjoyed coming. when you’re living it you don’t see what is going on, but when you are on the course, you are able to take a step back, see it from another perspective & you see how you could have done things differently. It made me think about how I communicate with my partner & it made me realise that communication is the key to everything”
“I feel it will help me more than Triple P, and it would perhaps be better for people to attend prior to the Triple P course.”
The following online courses, offering relationship support are also available.
- Me, You and Baby Too – a course for new and expectant parents.
- Arguing better – a course to help improve conflict resolution and communication skills.
- Getting it right for children – a course to help separating and separated parents co-operatively parent together and develop positive communication skills.
To access the free courses, parents can visit
Arguments in parental relationships – Lancashire County Council
Download Separating better for iOS devices
Download Separating better for Android devices
We all have arguments- how do you solve yours
Online relationship support for parents
How to help children deal with divorce, separation and arguments in parental relationships. Please see links below for useful information, advice and guidance.
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/separation-and-divorce/
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/parents-a-z-mental-health-guide/divorce/
https://naccc.org.uk/for-children/information-about-changes/
https://naccc.org.uk/for-children/wishes-and-feelings/
https://naccc.org.uk/for-children/videos-for-young-people/
Separation and divorce aren’t easy.
There may be bad feelings between the parents and their families. Children can pick up on this, which may confuse or upset them, or even lead to them blaming themselves for a break-up. It’s important to empathise with them.
To support children during a separation and help them with their worries, you should:
- remind them that both parents love them
- be honest when talking about it, but keep in mind the child’s age and understanding
- avoid blame and don’t share any negative feelings the adults have about each other
- keep up routines, such as going to school and having specific mealtimes and bedtimes
- let them know they can talk about their feelings with you – explain that it’s OK to be sad, confused or angry
- listen more than you speak – asking questions will help them to open up.
There are lots of ways to make it a bit less painful when talking to children about divorce or any other difficult subject. We’ve got more advice for parents in our guide for talking about difficult topics. https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/talking-about-difficult-topics/