Meet Sarah and her 6-year-old twins – two bright, precocious boys. After she and their father divorced three months ago, the twins started having serious behavioral problems at school – withdrawing from teachers, difficulty paying attention, and even acting out aggressively with friends.   As parents who divorced amicably, Sarah and her ex were surprised. The boys remain close to their …

Wouldn’t it be great if children arrived in our lives with instruction manuals? Then well-intentioned parents would know just how to help develop healthy, thriving children. Instead, parents struggle sometimes, and that’s okay. That’s why The Family Center offers parenting classes and in-home coaching to help parents like Anne succeed. “I am trying to be a good parent, but I …

Diane wasn’t aware that a sixth of Tennessee’s population has suffered from misusing or abusing painkiller prescriptions. She didn’t know that opioid overdoses claimed the lives of nearly 1,500 Tennesseans last year. She was unconcerned with these disturbing statistics — until she realized she was part of the problem. Diane’s breakthrough moment came when she asked her 13-year old what …

Marketers tell us the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, but that feeling is often lost on divorced families. The Family Center’s Sandra Brunelle, instructor for the Divorcing Parents Seminar, reminds that co-parenting calls for cooperation not competition. She offers these tips for drama-free parenting this holiday season. Consider the child’s perspective. Divorce is just a piece of …

Jamaica was good at hiding the truth. She hid the tell-tale signs of her husband’s escalating physical and emotional abuse so well. Her coworkers at a Nashville-based corporation didn’t know. Her neighbors never suspected. Even her friends weren’t aware. But she couldn’t hide the violence from her four children. They saw it all — their father’s angry outbursts, how he …