UPDATES IN MICHIGAN FAMILY LAW

"Parental Alienation" -- High Conflict Child Custody Cases

Most of the lawyers, court personnel, judges and parents who read my blog are well aware that there have been many--too many--of these cases. Some cases have gained notoriety that has not been helpful -- that has often harmed not only the parents and children, but also lawyers and/or court personnel trying to resolve these vexing and destructive cases.

Thank you to Harry B. Siegel
, the Managing Partner of SIEGELLAW in Ellicott City, MD, for initiating another dialogue about high conflict cases among family lawyers across the country in his post today to the ABA Family Law Listserv today. Siegel wrote: "Whether we call it parental alienation (a bad title), resistant children (likely the worst title I have ever heard in my life) or just plain high conflict cases, these are the intractable cases that vex families, divorce attorneys, mental health professionals and jurists."

Attorney Siegel opined that these cases "appear to be, at best, based on 'soft science,' which likely would never meet any Daubert standard. The Washington Post article recounted some of the history behind the term "Parental Alienation Syndrome," coined by psychologist Richard Gardener many, many years ago. It is noted that the American Psychiatric Assn has chosen NOT to include this term as a diagnosis in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which lists all psychiatric disorders, and this has created enormous uncertainty around its usage in the legal system. Siegel provided a link to a recent Washington Post article that describes the most horrific case I have ever reviewed. 

 

The joys & benefits of reading to / with your children

Today, as I read a blog post by Leo Babuta ["The Unexpected Pleasures of a More Than a Decade of Reading Harry Potter"], I was reminded of the joys of reading creative works written for children of all ages. As a Fifth Grade teacher, the first half hour of every afternoon was devoted to reading to my students. I felt gratified when those children, after listening to and loving a Newberry Award Winner book, would go the the library, check it out and read it again. 

When I had children of my own, we started with the Caldecott Award Winners for best picture books of the year, later progressing to the Newberry Award winners. I was more than gratified as my own children learned to love books, love reading, and to be life-long readers of quality literature. Memories flood in here--Richard Scarry books, Robert Kraus books, (especially Pipsqueak Mouse in Shining Armour--now out-of-print). We had treasured moments with books shared, and John and David became fantastic, skilled and discriminating readers. Below, I'll share with you Leo Babuta's wonderful blog post: The Unexpected Pleasures of More Than a Decade of Reading Harry Potter. For parents . . . this is a must read!