K-Fed Allows Britney To See Her Boys

Britney Spears spent three hours with her sons Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, on Saturday, the first time in almost two months the Toxic singer was allowed to see her kids. On January 4th, Spears’ visitation rights were stripped following a stand-off with police and paramedics when the star refused to turn over her children after a court monitored visit. 

Ex-husband Kevin Federline announced through his attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan on Friday that he’d agreed to modify the court order. Spears had recently made two unsuccessful attempts to regain visitation.  

Both the singer’s psychiatrist and father Jamie were both reportedly present for the reunion. While it’s not clear what prompted Spears and Federline to turn a corner in their custody battle, one tool divorcing parents can utilize to work out their differences is mediation. 

During mediation, a couple chooses a neutral person to help negotiate a fair compromise for all elements of divorce from custody to property. “There are several advantages to going to a mediator,” says William Wiesner, a mediator in Port Jefferson Station, N.Y. “That’s because the goal is to have people get along as well as possible after their divorce.” 

Because both parties are sitting in the same room, working through the agreement and not playing “telephone” through the attorneys, there is more direct communication which can sometimes lead to a faster, more amiable resolution. “When people are working together, they’re more likely to see common solutions,” says Ken Neumann, a director of the Center for Mediation and Training in New York. “When you’re part of the solution, you’re much more likely to go along with it.”