By Marcy Segal ( October 1, 2026, 2:46 PM EDT) -- Every fall, I hear some version of the same call. Two parents who spent the summer managing around each other, sometimes well, sometimes barely, suddenly find themselves in open conflict over a decision that has to be made right now: which school a child is registered at, which parent signs the form, whether an extracurricular activity happens on a day that falls outside the regular schedule. On the surface, it looks like a dispute about a single decision. It rarely is....