Conflict Surfaces: A Systems Framework for Recurring Co-Parenting Conflict (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798185596661)

The handoff. The schedule swap. The reimbursement request. The late-night text.

You've read the communication books. Maybe you've hired lawyers or tried mediation. Yet the same collision keeps arriving-right on schedule.

Conflict Surfaces offers a different explanation.

Your recurring conflicts may not be a communication problem.

They are a design problem.

Instead of asking you to become a better communicator-or hoping the other parent changes-this book introduces a practical systems framework for reducing recurring co-parenting conflict.

- Identify the recurring Conflict Surfaces where disputes begin

- Find the Keystone Conflict that triggers many of the others

- Separate necessary conflict from manufactured conflict

- Replace recurring negotiations with clear, standing rules

- Build a parenting playbook that reduces friction over time

- Escalate process-not emotion-when cooperation isn't possible

This isn't a book about winning arguments.

It isn't about diagnosing your co-parent.

It isn't about becoming friends again.

It's about designing a parenting system that works even when trust is low and goodwill is limited.

Whether you're navigating a recent separation, years into parallel parenting, or supporting families as a mediator, lawyer, therapist, or parenting coordinator, Conflict Surfaces provides a practical framework for reducing unnecessary conflict and creating more predictable, stable co-parenting.

The goal isn't winning.

It's the boring life.

Because when conflict stops being scheduled, children finally get to stop expecting it.