Dg Books Publishing Two Homes Filled with Love: A Story about Divorce and Separation

I am a Licenced Marriage and Family Therapist who uses play therapy with Children and their families. I needed a few more books covering the importance of empathy for Children living in two homes with Co-parents.I appreciated the title of this book, and it appeard it would offer an empathetic view for children whose lives have been disrupted by divorce. However, after briefly showing a child who is hurting, most of the book takes an approach of just trying to make the child feel better about what is going on out of sympathy. Indeed, some of the suggestions given in the book are actually rather harmful.There are several pages devoted to "playing a game" with the hurting child by getting him to recognize how "fortunate" he actually is that he will get *double* or two of *everything*. This is a fairly harmful idea to teach kids in split homes for several reasons. First, kids are most often never going to get two of everything. Many times there is a disproportionate economic difference between homes and to assume both parents can provide two of everything speaks from a place of incredible privilege that most familes would stuggle to live up to. Second, this "game" will serve only to bandage or sweep the real emotions of the child under the rug. It doesn't address the true hurt or grief but instead twists the situation to make the child feel he should forget about the hurt he is experiencing because he gets more stuff. Without being dramatic, knowing this term is used a lot in our culture, this is a form of gasligting. If a child feels hurt and wants to express his pain he doesn't need someone telling him that he should actually feel grateful because of what others are giving him.Other parts of the book attempt to connect with a narrative that the child will always be loved and it doesn't matter that the family is split. I can understand what this statement is saying but it subtly invalidates the child's feelings. It does and should matter to children that they have had their lives disrupted. Yes parents have the responsibility of loving the child through that situation, however the child should still be allowed to say that unfairness or hurt of this situation matters.The final section of the book begins to express the idea that children need to share their thoughts and feelings. However the story again moves away from empathy for what the child is going through and offers solutions of how to make the child feel better to just get them to forget about their sadness.This book is filled with what sounds like positive or conventional wisdom of how to address divorce with children. However these kind if interactions are at best shallow attempts to make people forget about their feelings and at worst could be incredibly harmful to children, families, or those in supportive roles in divorcing or divorced homes.

this book is very basic and focuses on the material world between the houses, no information about emotions.

The book is a continuation from another book! So, you've been introduced to the characters previously which made it confusing to the kids. And, it wasn't great at explaining divorce to a 5 and 6 year old! I'm really disappointed with it!!

I needed a book to help explain to my grandson, why HIS parents divorced...instead this explains to kids why their friend's parents live separately.Not what I was expecting.I'll continue looking for the proper book.

It’s a good one to have for variety. I imagine different books resonate for different kids.