Children's Reaction to Divorce: How to Help Them Cope

Divorce leads to a challenging time when parents find new ways of relating with each other and new parenting conditions. While some children react to divorce naturally with understanding, others struggle with the transition. Among the impact of divorce is the uncertainty of how the divorce will shape their fitness, safety, and stability in the new family make-up. Other impacts are conflicting loyalties when choosing which of the parent to side with, reconciliation fantasies due to reunification hope of their parents, and parental alienation syndrome ( Live on Purpose TV, 2020) . Most parents try to conflict with their spouses in times of divorce, poisoning the kids' sense of being related to them. All these impacts and other divorce issues like possible polygamy and sex outside marriage boundaries result in anxiety and depression in children. Therefore, divorce creates a new world for kids which they hardly fit in. 

While divorce might have some positive impacts, the negative impacts are more; hence preventing circumstances the lead to divorce is better. Among these preventive measures is adjusting to performing all responsibilities, which will prepare either partner for days when they get ill. Also, couples should develop a fixed source of income to avoid shifts in expenditure and couples schedule in time of job changes. The issue of childbirth must be considered as a mutual agreement to avoid irreconcilable differences when raising their kids ( Schramm & Becher, 2020) . Couples should avoid reasons that lead them to live apart from each other to avoid traumatic disorders caused by extended periods without seeing their marital partners. Couples should conduct regular dates and attend romantic activities to maintain sexual and emotional intimacy with each other to avoid becoming empty-nesters. Couples should tactically embrace infidelity to reformulate marital goals and perhaps acquire a new solution for prevailing relationship problems. However, infidelity is sensitively double-edged; hence, it could be the final nail in the coffin. 

References 

Schramm, D. G., & Becher, E. H. (2020). Common practices for divorce education. Family Relations ,  69 (3), 543-558. 

Live on Purpose TV. (2020). The top 5 effects of divorce on children . YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYEjfHQdR6g