Now, the company is having a video contest and wants you to to participate by creating a video that demonstrates what the Wedding Ring Coffin means to you. Did you purchase a WRC? What did you do with it? Did you have a memorial service? A divorce party? Did you bury your WRC? Your video can be funny or serious, happy or sad, you decide… and the winner will earn 1,000 bucks!

THE DEADLINE FOR VIDEO ENTRIES IS APRIL 7, 2008.

Here’s how to enter:

1. Create a video showing what the Wedding Ring Coffin means to you. Videos should be no more than 2 minutes and include the Wedding Ring Coffin. No purchase is necessary. There are some images available on our website’s Media page at http://www.weddingringcoffin.com/Media .

2. Upload your video to YouTube. You will need to have a YouTube account and ID. Join our group located at http://www.youtube.com/group/weddingr… , then upload your video.

3. Read the Official Rules, http://www.weddingringcoffin.com/vide… ,and complete the registration form on our Video Contest page, http://www.weddingringcoffin.com/vide… .

Good luck and I look forward to seeing your videos!

The research, led by ecologist Jianguo “Jack” Liu, a Michigan State University professor of fisheries and wildlife, looked at international data comparing utility consumption and housing space per capita in married and divorced households. He found that divorce creates more households with fewer people, using more energy and water and taking up more space.

The analysis, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, does not look at the environmental impact of singles who have never been married, but Liu says he plans to look at singles in a subsequent study.

“If you have more households as a result of divorce, then you would need more housing units, and if you need to build more houses or apartments, that means you need more land, and that will contribute to urban sprawl,” he says.

Others familiar with such issues caution that the divorce link to the environment is a bit of a stretch.

While divorce leads to smaller household size on average for a population, “it’s not just divorce,” says social demographer Ronald Rindfuss of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has studied the relationship between population and the environment for more than a decade.

“There’s a whole variety of factors that have been leading to people living in dwelling units containing smaller units of people. Divorce is just one.”

Matt Golden, founder of San Francisco home energy audit company Sustainable Spaces, says overall household space is increasing while occupancy is shrinking.

Liu acknowledges that not all people who divorce create two households; some move into existing households with friends or relatives. But the data he analyzed considered only those in which the divorced person was a head of household.

This analysis also did not compare married and divorced households with other types, such as cohabiting or those living alone. The aim was comparing married with divorced, he says.

“Environmental impacts of divorce and other lifestyles such as separation should be considered when making personal choices,” the report says.

Liu says it took four years to analyze the stats, which include international census data from the 2000 Integrated Public Use Microdata in 12 countries; data from 1970-2001 from the USA, Greece and Ecuador; and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a sample of 3,283 U.S. households from 2001 to 2005.

So what about options such as communes, where more people live under one roof?

“That’s one possibility for people to consider,” Liu says.

She said she was 24-years old before they got married.

After they got hitched, however, she ‘fessed up to really being 30-years old.

Darn Asian girls. Even the locals can’t tell how old they are.

A little slow on the intake, though, it took the man 10 years to figure out she wasn’t being straight with him.

Oh well, at least now she can lie about being divorced at 34 (which is waaay much better than being divorced at 40…)

source

“He said, ‘Dude, you’ve got to do whatever it takes to get the kids and all the spouses or the girlfriend together. You’ve got to show your kids it’s okay.’ It was like a light went on. Ding.”

- Bruce Willis credits Will Smith for helping him to become friends with his ex-wife’s husband, Ashton Kutcher.

I came across this really funny post on on this blog about people’s misconceptions of holiday time in divorced families. As Kristine puts it:

“I’ve heard some pretty odd misconceptions and generalizations that people make about divorced families, but by far the funniest I’ve ever heard was of a person who assumed that people in a divorced family didn’t eat a traditional Thanksgiving meal, as if the right and ability to throw a turkey in the oven was somehow written into the marriage license. Once revoked, it’s pizza and Chinese takeout, poor souls.”

Now, excuse me while I go make a funky turkey dog of my own…

When Jasmin Watson talks about her divorce, she sounds tired and a little frustrated. Mostly, though, she’s concerned about how her children—ages 9, 11 and 12—are holding up. They’re doing better, she says, thanks in part to a package that arrived in the mail from her attorney.

Inside was a video game called Earthquake in Zip­land, a research-based video game designed to help school-age children cope with divorce. Family lawyer Lee Rosen, whose firm is handling Watson’s divorce, discovered the game’s Web site last fall while surfing the Internet for resources to help clients of his Raleigh, N.C.-based firm. After playing the game with his own kids, he ordered three dozen or so to give out to clients.

“We used to hand out books, but if you hand a kid a book, they know what you’re up to,” says Rosen, whose three offices handle about 700 divorces a year. “With a video game, it’s something to play with and it engages kids, especially boys.”

And what he’s hearing back from his clients is that the game is working. “There’s just not anything like it that facilitates conversations,” Rosen says. Watson says she’s noticed a change since her kids started playing the game, especially with her youngest. “She asks questions now. I don’t know if that’s just because of the game, but they all definitely got into it—they thought it was challenging, and my kids love a challenge.”

In the game, a superhero named Moose must repair his country after an earthquake has caused upheaval and chaos. As kids play through, they must perform certain tasks, including writing in an online journal, to keep moving to higher levels. Using the earthquake as a metaphor for their life, children learn that “even a superhero can’t put everything together exactly the way it was before,” says Hank Shrier, who directs marketing for the game’s makers, Jerusalem-based Zipland Inter­active. (Click here to see clips of the game.)

The Rosen Law Firm was one of the first firms to order the game, says Zipland president and family therapist Chaya Harash. She hopes more will follow, especially based on the warm reception she received from both lawyers and judges when she presented the game at the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts conference in Washington, D.C., this past summer.

But Rosen says the game wasn’t an instant hit with the 11 other lawyers in his firm. “We basically handed it out to them and said, ‘You can give these to people if you’d like to,’ but largely they did nothing with them.” When Rosen demonstrated the game at a staff meeting, though, it clicked.

Rosen says the game doesn’t just help clients; it creates good will for the firm, too. “Clients are used to lawyers taking their money, but they’re not used to getting something, and when you give them a gift that also benefits their children, that’s something exponentially more powerful.”

That’s certainly reflected in Watson’s reaction when she received the game. “I was like, ‘Me? You thought of me?’ ” she recalls. “It made me feel like I wasn’t just another person—[that my lawyer] thought of me out of all those clients. It made me feel a little more important.”

Web Extra: Clips from Earthquake in Zipland

First, you need to understand how school-age children react to divorce. Knowing how school-age children react to divorce will bring you to a better position of knowing the best appropriate divorce parenting practices you can do for your child. So, how is school-age children affected by divorce?

School-age children are old enough to understand that they are in pain because of their parents’ separation. They are too young, however, to understand or to control their reactions to this pain. They may experience grief, embarrassment, resentment, divided loyalty and intense anger.

Elementary school children begin to understand that divorce means their parents will no longer be married and live together, and that their parents no longer love each other.

Children worries about the future. They fear nobody will be there to pick him/her up from school and take care of them. It is common for them to ignore school and friendships.

Children also become aware of their parents as individuals, often fear the loss of parents, and feel sadness and anger because of their parents’ divorce or separation. Self-blame, depression, and attempts to reunite parents are not uncommon in this age group.

Knowing how school-age children reach to divorce, I’m sure by now ideas flow into your mind on what divorce parenting practices is best appropriate for school-age children. To add up to your list of ideas, here below are some divorce parenting practices that is best for your child.

• Explain what is happening over and over again. Children this age are confused easily. In simple terms, explain where your child will live, with whom, where the departing parent will live, and who will provide care when both parents are unavailable.
• Encourage your child to talk about how he/she feels. Be sensitive to children’s fears. Let your child know that he or she can openly talk to you about the ups and downs of your separation or divorce.
• Read books together about children and divorce. Use books to help your child talk about feelings.
• Answer all questions about the changes, and keep lines of communication open. Make sure your child feels like he or she can ask you questions and get answers about why the divorce happened and what to expect.
• Plan special time together. Set aside special time to spend with your child but be careful not to make promises you may not be able to keep.
• Repeatedly tell children that they are not responsible for the divorce. Children need to be reassured that the breakup wasn’t their fault.
• Reassure children of how their needs will be met and of who will take care of them.
• Reassure children that everything will be ok, just different. Children are invariably frightened and confused by divorce. It’s a threat to their security. Provide extra hugs and kisses and tell your child that you and other adults will always be near to love and protect
• Talk to your child’s day-care provider about the divorce. She will better understand your child’s possible regressive behaviors and will likely offer extra support.
• Talk to your child’s teachers or school counselors about the divorce. They may then better understand possible learning or behavioral problems and will likely offer extra support.
• Keep daily routines intact. Children feel more secure when there is a standard routine. Stick with bedtimes, no matter at which home the children are. Have some consistent chores. Have some time committed to the child, which is treated as sacred.
• Respect, but monitor, your child’s privacy.
• Discourage reconciliation fantasies. Avoid dinners, outings, or holiday celebrations with your ex-spouse; they only fuel your child’s fantasies. Instead, emphasize the finality of divorce
• Be sensitive to children signs of depression and fear. Seek professional help if depression is prolonged or intense.
• Help non-custodial parent stay involve. Let non-custodial parent maintain a regular presence such as a phone call several times each week, messages sent on video or audiotapes.
• Plan a schedule of time for children to spend with their other parent. Be supportive of children’s ongoing relationship with the other parent. Remember that children generally fare best when they have the emotional support and ongoing involvement of both parents. If you have difficulty relating to your former spouse then get your free copy of my ebook “8 Essential Steps to Cooperative Parenting and Divorce.” Just visit my website and get the said ebook for free.

You can learn more divorce parenting practices appropriate for children of any age in my ebook “101 Ways To Raise ‘Divorced’ Children to Successfully.” This ebook is a divorce parenting guide that offers many proven ways that will not only help you help your children but will also guide you on how to deal with yourself and your former ex-spouse for your children’s sake. Thus, giving you complete information on how to raise healthy, happy and successful children even if you’re divorced. For more information, please visit my website.

With the above information, I hope you will become an empowered divorced parent and believe that you can raise healthy, happy and successful children even if you’re divorce.

Copyright by Ruben Francia. All Rights Reserved.

About The Author

Ruben Francia is an author of an indispensable divorce parenting guide ebook, entitled “101 Ways To Raise Your ‘Divorced’ Children To Success”. Get his other ebook for FREE, “8 Essential Steps to Cooperative Parenting and Divorce.” Visit his web site at http://www.101divorceparenting.com. support@101divorceparenting.com

Going through a divorce is no fun for anyone, but children are especially vulnerable. Divorce specialist attorney Ed Sherman reveals in his book Divorce Solutions: How to Make Any Divorce Better, the following 10 things you can do to make a big difference in how well your children survive.1. Tell children the truth in simple terms with simple explanations. Tell them where their other parent has gone.

2. Reassure them that they will continue to be taken care of and that they will be safe and secure.

3. Your children will see that parents can stop loving each other. Reassure them that a parent’s love for a child is a special kind that never stops.

4. Spend time with each child individually. Whether you have custody or visitation, the most important thing to the child is your individual relationship with him or her. Build the best relationship you can. The future is built of many tiny moments.

5. Children feel responsible for causing the divorce. Reassure them that they are not to blame. They may also feel that it is their responsibility to bring their parents back together. Let them know your decision is final and will have to be accepted.

6. Divorcing parents often feel guilty and become overindulgent. Give your child love, but also give limits.

7. Your child is still a child and can’t become the man of the house or a little mother. Continue to be the parent to your child. Seek other adults to fill your own need for companionship.

8. Avoid situations that place a child in the impossible position of choosing between parents:

* Don’t use your child as a way to get back at your spouse. Children can be terribly wounded this way.
* Don’t say bad things about the other parent in hearing of a child.
* Don’t say or do anything that might discourage the child from spending time with the other parent.
* Don’t encourage a child to take sides.

9. You and your former spouse will continue to be the parents of your children for life. Pledge to cooperate responsibly toward the growth and development of your children as an expression of your mutual love for them.

10. Be patient and understanding with your children. Be patient and understanding with yourself.

Even though it may be the last thing you feel like doing, cooperating with your spouse during your divorce is one of the best things you can do for your children. They learn that conflicts can be resolved eventually, which is a valuable lesson.

About The Author

Ed Sherman is a divorce specialist attorney and award-winning author of How to Do Your Own Divorce in California. His books and software have saved millions of people billions of dollars in unnecessary attorney fees. Visit http://www.nolotech.com/