Child-Informed Parent Sessions are a short-term, structured process designed to help parents better understand how their child may be experiencing change — without placing the child in the middle of adult decisions or conflict.
 
This service is often used when parents are not yet ready for child-inclusive consultation, or when direct involvement of a child would not be appropriate, but parents still want support that is genuinely informed by their child’s needs.
 
The process may include a gentle, play-based meeting with the child and separate parent sessions with each parent. Children are not asked to comment on adult matters or make decisions. Instead, the focus is on gently understanding how a child engages with and navigates uncertainty in a safe, non-directive way.
 
Insights from the child meeting are then used to support parents’ reflection — helping them consider what may support their child best at this point in time, and how everyday parenting responses, communication, and routines can reduce stress and promote emotional safety.
 
Child-Informed Parent Sessions do not involve therapy, assessment, or diagnosis. They do not ask children to “report back” or carry responsibility for outcomes. Their purpose is to strengthen parents’ reflective capacity and decision-making, so children are supported through change rather than exposed to it.

As part of Child-Informed Parent Sessions, parents are also provided with access to preparation resources to support reflection, shared understanding, and common language beyond the sessions.
 
This service is offered by referral only and is often recommended by Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners when additional child-focused preparation may support families prior to, or alongside, mediation. ugh change differently. 

These sessions offer a steady, respectful space for parents to consider what their child may need — without pressure, judgment, or urgency — so that mediation conversations can feel more grounded and constructive.