How Divorce Affects Children

Divorce & ChildrenPerhaps one of the biggest questions for couples is whether they should get a divorce or stay together for the kids. This is definitely an important question and should be considered by both parents. It is important to note though that while children with parents who are together often do better than children from broken homes; high-conflict marriages won’t do children any good.

For those who are taking into consideration the emotional effects of the divorce on their children, there is a workaround. This can be done by making the marriage as low-conflict as possible.

Experts suggest that couples should go through counseling and try fix their marriage before resorting to the dissolution of marriage.

The United States has seen a surge in divorce rates since the early 20th century. While divorce is a legal act, it involves a lot of emotions. This experience is also said to be more painful for the children than the adults involved.

Psychologists say, couples going through a divorce regain their psychological equilibrium as time goes by but it is debatable whether children actually pull through from such an experience. In fact, it increases the possibility of the kids suffering from behavioral and even psychological problems later on.

One must note though that if divorced parents do their jobs right, their children can become more resilient and relatively have “normal” childhoods. But even if parents manage the divorce in a peaceful way and create a stress-free environment for their children, it does not mean that their children will not experience or keep remembering painful memories.

In a study done by Laumann-Billings and Emery, college students whose parents are divorced feel that they would have been different people if their parents stayed together. Almost half of the students interviewed also reported that they worry whenever both of their parents attend important events. This is usually because of the conflict between mom and dad.

According to the same study, 18 percent of the students also felt doomed because of thoughts that they will repeat their parents’ problems.

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