196. Collateral Damage
The Reconnection Club Podcast
When adult children become estranged from their parents, the ripple effects can often spread to other family members—siblings, grandparents, and even close friends. These "innocent bystanders" can become collateral damage in the fallout of a family rift. In this clarifying episode, host Tina Gilbertson explores four common reasons why estranged adult children might distance themselves from others in the family, and even beyond. Understanding these motivations can offer a clearer picture of the situation and may help ease parents’ fears about the extent of the rift. You’ll learn that...
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Important announcement regarding episode expiration
The Reconnection Club Podcast
TRANSCRIPT: These are uncertain times for those of us who create and freely share content via the Internet. I mentioned on the podcast earlier this year that I needed some time to assess the impact of all the changes happening in the world of digital information, including the widespread, unregulated use of AI. At that time, I removed the show from a couple of the larger platforms, and stopped releasing new episodes to those platforms. Unfortunately, many smaller platforms were also affected. And that’s made it a lot harder for the show to be found by new listeners, which is a dilemma I’m...
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Important Announcement Regarding Access to This Podcast
The Reconnection Club Podcast
There are many more episodes to come! To find ALL episodes of the Reconnection Club Podcast, go to .
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99. Road Map to Reconnection, Part 3
The Reconnection Club Podcast
Episodes 97, 98 and 99 form a 3-part series outlining an overall stepwise approach to reconnecting with your estranged adult child.
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97. Road Map to Reconnection, Part 1
The Reconnection Club Podcast
Episodes 97, 98 and 99 form a 3-part series outlining an overall stepwise approach to reconnecting with your estranged adult child.
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95. The Deep Pain of the Rejected Parent
The Reconnection Club Podcast
Tina talks about three separate types of parental pain, which she suggests exist at deeper and deeper levels in the parent.
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93. You're Both Adults, But Not Peers
The Reconnection Club Podcast
The parent-child relationship is not like any other. In so many ways, your role has always been a more demanding one than your child’s.
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91. How to Let Them Know You've Changed
The Reconnection Club Podcast
Once you start learning, growing and healing through estrangement from an adult child, you might feel like sharing new insights with your child. But don't be in a hurry. Tina offers 2 reasons to wait a while.
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Announcement: Summer Hiatus 2021
The Reconnection Club Podcast
Weekly episodes continue through May 31st, but after that, the next new episode will come out the first Monday in September.
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89. Humility vs. Humiliation
The Reconnection Club Podcast
It’s not uncommon for parents rejected by adult children to feel humiliated by the experience of estrangement.
info_outlineIf you’ve been in the Reconnection Club environment long enough, you’re probably on board with the idea of taking your estranged adult child’s point of view.
You want to be supportive, to validate his thoughts and feelings, while you work on repairing the relationship.
But how do you do that in the face of poor behavior, without feeling like a doormat?
In this week’s show, Tina looks at 3 scenarios where parents are vulnerable to feeling like doormats:
- Your adult child only contacts you when she needs something, then disappears again.
- Your child uses foul language when he speaks to you, but you don’t want to complain and risk losing contact.
- You send invitations and wait for responses that never come, so you never know whether to set another place at the table.
With these examples in mind, learn how to strike a balance between being supportive and being walked on.