At Our Divorce Hearing, My 8-Year-Old Asked the Judge to Watch Something I Didn’t Know About — and When the Video Played, the Room Fell Silent The Day My Child Spoke Up in Court My name is Rachel Monroe.

What I Learned as a Parent

Looking back, my daughter’s courage taught me something I will carry forever:

Parents don’t just raise children — they listen to them.

Divorce may change family structures, but it shouldn’t silence children’s voices.

And when a child speaks from the heart, even a judge — trained, stoic, and formal — will listen.

Conclusion

If there’s one thing I want every parent going through divorce to understand, it’s this:

Your child doesn’t need perfect solutions.

They need to be seen.

They need to be heard.

They need to know that even when life shifts and changes, their feelings matter — and adults will not look away from them.

For me, that truth came in the form of a simple video — a child’s heartfelt montage that reminded everyone in that courtroom why we were there in the first place.

A video that made the room fall silent — and made all of us feel a little more human.