New app devised to reduce stress between divorced couples - and their kids
A new app developed in Queensland is trying to reduce the stress and emotion between separated and divorced couples.
It's called Divvito and is particularly useful for parents struggling to get through turbulent emotional times, warning when the language used in messages is hostile or inappropriate.
Father of two Stewart Saini recently separated from his wife, but they maintain contact for their kids.
"Communication during a separation is very stressful anyway, and its really easy to find yourself getting off track," Mr Saini said,
Texts with aggressive words like "stupid" can inflame situations.
The app, called Divvito, intervenes and encourages users to rethink their language.
"The less conflict that there is between my ex and I, I think that will really help with the kids," Mr Saini said.
Wendy Oxenham created Divvito after going through a divorce herself.
"Emotions do run over after separation," she said.
"And we want to make sure we can make parents keep their emotions in check."
That's a task often left to family lawyer Kay Feeney.
"l'll check an email before it's sent, but this just gives people a bit more agency, a bit more control themselves," she said.
Census data shows each month almost 4000 Australian couples get divorced, and almost half of those have children.
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"They don't want the control of their children's lives to move to lawyers and judges," Ms Feeney said.
"They want to manage it themselves."
"If we can keep communication positive, we can ensure that parenting can be positive as well," Ms Oxenham said.
Divvito is available to download from app stores.
