Parenting Without A Roadmap: Raising Emotionally Healthy Kids After Divorce

What really causes estrangement between parents and children, and how can you prevent it, especially after divorce? In this episode of The Moving On Method, host Michelle Dempsey-Multack sits down with psychotherapist and author Whitney Goodman (aka @sitwithwit) to unpack the nuanced emotional dynamics that lead to parent-child estrangement. From parentification to narcissistic family systems, Michelle and Whitney explore what it takes to be the safe, emotionally attuned parent your child needs, particularly when co-parenting in a high-conflict situation. What You’ll Learn: Why estrangement is becoming more openly discussed, and what’s actually driving it How parentification harms children (even when well-intentioned) The critical difference between protecting vs. over-sharing with your child How to build emotional safety and connection during divorce or co-parenting What “parenting without a roadmap” really means, and how to do it with confidence Episode Highlights: 03:44 – Is estrangement really on the rise, or are we just talking about it more? 08:29 – The difference between abandonment and emotional cutoffs 13:52 – Why parents repeat unhealthy dynamics or swing too far in the other direction 19:41 – How to avoid parentifying your child during divorce 26:35 – “My child is my rock”: When closeness crosses emotional boundaries 31:18 – What to say when your child repeats something the other parent said 34:50 – Can you be a “safe parent” even if you can’t control the other home? 37:11 – Parenting through estrangement fears: What conscious parents need to hear Meet the Guest: Whitney Goodman, LMFT, is a licensed psychotherapist, speaker, and author of Toxic Positivity. Best known for her online presence as @sitwithwit, Whitney helps individuals navigate family estrangement, generational trauma, and emotionally mature parenting through her work at callinghome.co. Tools, Frameworks, and Concepts Mentioned: Parenting Without a Roadmap – Whitney’s emotional navigation model for parents without healthy templates Parentification – A breakdown of the emotional role-reversal between parent and child Narcissistic Family Systems – Traits and long-term impacts Emotional Maturity vs. Emotional Oversharing – Why kids need honesty with boundaries Safe and Stable Parent Model – A guiding principle for high-conflict parenting Closing Insight: "Bad parents don’t worry about being bad parents. Conscious ones do." Being afraid your child will resent you one day is a sign you’re already trying to parent with awareness. But trying isn’t enough; you need tools, insight, and support. Get Michelle's courses on navigating divorce and co-parenting: https://bit.ly/MDMPodStore Get one-on-one coaching from Michelle: https://michelledempsey.com/coaching/ Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMichelleDempsey Website - https://michelledempsey.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/michelle645 TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@themichelledempsey1 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mldempsey/ LINK TO TRANSCRIPT: https://transcripts/moving-on-method-ep257-parentification-estrangement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices