Children, as a rule, experience their parents’ divorce very acutely. Often it seems to them that they can correct the situation and feel responsible for the reunification of their parents.
And if it doesn’t work out, they feel guilty, powerless and lost. Can parents help a little person?
You can’t completely avoid stress, but you can minimize it.
First of all, dad and mom together must inform the child about their decision and explain the reasons in a language understandable to him.
Be sure to emphasize that your relationship with your child will not change, you will still take care of him as before.
Support emotionally, hug more often. Be interested in how and with whom your child spends his free time. Talk to him about all his experiences. He needs to know that you understand his feelings.
Parents should not complain to their child or let him in on the details of their disagreements. Communicate with each other as respectfully as possible. Open quarrels increase the child’s sense of guilt and make him think that he is the cause of your conflict.
The behavior of children experiencing parental divorce often changes for the worse. They may become aggressive or, conversely, passive, withdrawn or not leave your side. The adult’s task is to calmly react to all changes, not to reproach the child and not urgently demand to “improve.”
