In general, if both parents have agreed on divorce, it is best to tell the children together. This shows of unity signifies that although the connection between them as married partners is soon to be over, the connection between them as parents in unbroken. They still share a common interest in the children, and will continue to work together to help the children grow.
Telling Children the News
Keep your presentation as simple, and specific, as possible. The words you speak should help your children to understand the decision you have made and to anticipate further actions to come. This life changing announcement sets the framework and the tone for ongoing communication to follow.
Here are some basic information you may want to include:
- Why the divorce is happening?
- How the divorce will work?
- Who will be in charge?
- Which will be the place of primary residence?
- When things will happen?
- What else will change?
When should parents seek counseling to help a child talk out hard feelings?
When the child is experiencing:
- emotionally disturbed behaviour (daily nightmares, constant anxiety, for example)
- self-defeating behaviour (failing in school, getting into fights/trouble, for example)
- self-destructive behaviour (isolation, substance abuse, for example).
Liked this article? Re-tweet it by clicking on the green button above to share it with your fellow twitter pals! To easily receive updates on new articles, subscribe to our RSS feeds.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment