I don't look at it as protecting the X spouse but rather protecting your children. All kids want to be loved and cared for especially by their mom and dad. By being honest you could be potentially harming that reality. I can speak from my experience of coming from a Divorced family. My dad has his side of the story and my mom has hers. Which one should I believe???? After 46 years of being on this planet I still don't know. I guess it's not important now. I just reassure my daughters that no matter what happened their mom and dad love them very much and both of us would do anything for them
Your son sounds like the Doc's son......she shuts that [censored] down and doesn't entertain it. Having your son full time as well has to be exhausting. I know that contributes to some of the short responses the Doc gives. It's certainly not right but I have had my moments with my girls as well. She is also concerned about how he will fair in life as he gets older due to his personality. He constantly argues, constantly debates, will correct you if you are wrong, and never accepts what you tell him to do the first time around. It is a constant negotiation with him. I get it in bits and pieces but it is exhausting.
If it was me and one of my daughters made some comment like that I would sit and listen to hear what they had to say. Try to determine why they felt that way. Why do you think daddy was keeping secrets? Why do you feel that mommy argues too much? At least he is expressing himself.
