Helping children cope with separation or divorce
Adjusting to the change in the family dynamic is difficult for most children. At a minimum, they are faced with the loss of daily contact with one parent, telling their friends about their parents splitting up, and going back and forth between two homes?pretty overwhelming for a child to take in over a short period of time.
These issues and more are discussed in the “Dealing With It” sections of both the Kids' Guide and Teen Guide. When you read through the material, think about strategies you can use to help your children cope with:
- breaking the news to friends and others
- having two homes
- staying connected/spending time with the parent who lives apart from the home
- missing a parent
- holidays and other celebrations
- parents dating
It is also helpful to be aware of the following parenting strategies, or things that you can do as a parent to help your children deal with separation or divorce:
- Look after yourself
- Make time for your children
- Be consistent with rules/boundaries
- Keep routines the same
- Allow children to make choices
- Let “kids be kids”
If your child is having a lot of difficulty coping with the separation or divorce, talk to your family doctor.
Next section: Keeping the lines of communication open
