| Divorce is stressful for parents and kids alike. | | | | accept that their lives will be different now. |
| Children often get caught up in conflicts between | | | | Children may get depressed. Sadness about |
| parents. The children are forced to constantly | | | | parents' separation, coupled with a sense of |
| witness angry and abusive fights. One of parent's | | | | hopelessness, is likely to lead to depression. |
| greatest concerns is how divorce will affect their | | | | Sometimes depression is referred to as anger |
| children. In fact, the marital relationship has far | | | | turned inward. When children feel depressed they |
| reaching ramifications for children, extended | | | | may withdraw from their parents or loved ones. |
| families, friends and others. The following are | | | | They may neglect their homework, dissociate |
| some perspectives on the view of children in a | | | | from friends and discontinue activities that once |
| divorcing family. | | | | brought them pleasure. Their eating habits may |
| The children in a divorcing family fear being | | | | change dramatically or they may engage in some |
| abandoned. When Mom and Dad are at odds and | | | | form of self-destructive behavior. Additionally, |
| are either separated or considering separation, | | | | depression in children often appears as agitation or |
| children fear that if they lose one parent, they | | | | acting |
| may lose the other. Their parents may pay | | | | Children may blame themselves. They may think, |
| attention to the new families and give no | | | | "If I had not misbehaved, Daddy would not have |
| attention to them. They may lose contact with | | | | left" or "They would not have been fighting if I |
| extended family on one side or the other. They | | | | had been good." It is imperative for parents to |
| worry that their parents don't love them | | | | talk to their children and stress that it is not their |
| anymore and they feel abandoned. They feel like | | | | fault. |
| the parent who left has divorced them too. The | | | | Divorce definitely affects children, but with some |
| concept of being alone in the world is a very | | | | help, reassurance and cooperative parenting your |
| frightening thing for a child. In addition, moving into | | | | child can come through feeling loved and happy. |
| new surroundings can cause a negative reaction. | | | | Experts agree that when handled with patience, it |
| Even if there have been tension and problems in | | | | is less stressful for a child to be from a broken |
| the home, some children will be shocked to learn | | | | home than to live in one, with parents constantly |
| that their parents are getting a divorce. It may | | | | fighting. |
| take some time for them to acknowledge and | | | | |