Helping Families Hear Children's Voices During Separation.
HOW CHILD INCLUSIVE MEDIATION CAN SUPPORT YOUR CLIENTS
Family solicitors are often supporting clients through some of the most difficult periods of their lives. Alongside legal issues, many parents are trying to understand how separation is affecting their children and how best to respond.
Child Inclusive Mediation offers an opportunity for children and young people to share their experiences with a specially trained family mediator in a safe and age-appropriate way.
By helping parents better understand their child's perspective, Child Inclusive Mediation can support more informed decision-making, improve communication and keep children's needs at the centre of discussions.
Why Recommend Child Inclusive Mediation
Gives Children a Voice
CIM enables children to express their views to a family mediator, ensuring their experiences can inform discussions without placing responsibility on them to make decisions.
Supports Better
communication
Hearing a child's perspective often helps parents move beyond entrenched positions, leading to more constructive discussions and improved cooperation.
Promotes Child-Centred Outcomes
Agreements reached following Child Inclusive Mediation are more likely to reflect the child's needs, wishes and lived experience, supporting durable arrangements.
Support positive relationships
Helping parents better understand their child's perspective can reduce conflict, improve co-parenting and support healthier family relationships after separation.
Child Inclusive Mediation can complement the legal advice you provide by helping clients gain a deeper understanding of their child's experiences and needs.
Benefits may include:
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Supporting child-focused decision-making
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Helping clients move beyond assumptions about their child's wishes
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Encouraging constructive discussions between parents
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Improving engagement with the mediation process
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Reducing the risk of children becoming caught in parental conflict
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Providing valuable insight that may assist negotiations
Many parents report that hearing their child's perspective changes the way they approach discussions about arrangements and future planning.
Benefits for Family Solicitors
Children are often directly affected by family separation but may have limited opportunities to express how they are feeling.
Child Inclusive Mediation can provide:
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A safe and neutral environment
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An opportunity to feel heard
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Reassurance that their views matter
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Support in expressing thoughts and feelings
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A chance to share experiences without being asked to take sides
Importantly, children are never asked to make decisions about where they live or how much time they spend with each parent.
The responsibility for decision-making remains firmly with adults.
Benefits for Children
Supporting Court Expectations
The Family Court increasingly emphasises the importance of understanding children's experiences and ensuring their welfare remains the paramount consideration.
Child Inclusive Mediation can support this objective by helping parents better understand their child's perspective and consider their needs when making decisions.
While Child Inclusive Mediation is not a replacement for Cafcass involvement where required, it can provide an opportunity for children's voices to be heard within the mediation process and may help families resolve issues without the need for further court intervention.
Working Alongside Legal Advice
Child Inclusive Mediation is designed to complement, not replace, legal advice.
Clients can continue to receive legal advice throughout the mediation process while benefiting from the additional insights that Child Inclusive Mediation may provide.
We regularly work alongside solicitors and welcome collaborative approaches that support families in reaching informed and sustainable agreements.
Where appropriate and with client consent, we can liaise with legal representatives to ensure families receive joined-up support.
Parental conflict can have a significant impact on children following separation.
Child Inclusive Mediation can help parents move away from entrenched positions by focusing attention on their child's experiences rather than their disagreements with one another.
When parents gain a clearer understanding of how family arrangements are affecting their child, conversations often become more constructive and child-focused.
This can help reduce conflict and improve co-parenting relationships over time.
Reducing Conflict Between Parents
Referring a Client
Referring a client to Pax Mediation is straightforward.
We accept referrals from:
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Family solicitors
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Barristers
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Cafcass practitioners
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Social workers
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Family support services
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Other professionals working with children and families.
Clients can contact us directly, or professionals can make an introduction with the client's consent.
Our team will discuss the family's circumstances, assess suitability and explain the Child Inclusive Mediation process in detail.