Divorce is hard on everyone involved, even when the process is amicable. While you might struggle to cope with the emotional and financial realities of your marriage dissolution, your children might have trouble making sense of it all. To them, life as they know it has been shattered, leaving them uncertain of the future and what their relationship with their parents can look like. If you don’t help your children through the process, then they can suffer otherwise avoidable emotional and psychological harm.
But how do you go about protecting your children’s well-being in the midst of divorce? That can be a difficult question to answer, as every child is different. But in this post, we want to give you some ideas for how to help your children get through your divorce so that they can come through healthy and maybe even a little stronger.
Ideas for helping your children cope with the ramifications of your divorce
Your marriage dissolution is going to feel like a massive change for your children. While you’ll need to acknowledge that some things will change, you’ll also want to let your children know that some things will remain consistent, such as your love for them and your willingness to talk through their feelings. Here are some other tips that might prove helpful as you move through your divorce:
- Model the behavior you want to see exhibited by your children: You and your children are both going to experience a wide array of emotions. But your children are going to pick up on behavioral ques from you. So, if you easily get upset and start bad mouthing their other parent, then they’ll exhibit anger and perhaps even physical and verbal aggression. On the other hand, if you can demonstrate how to act calmly even during adversity, then your children will be better positioned to cope with the stressful situations they may face.
- Find support: We understand your desire to try to protect your children on your own. Yet, that might not be a realistic expectation. It’s okay to seek outside help when your children are struggling to cope. Think through whether implementing mental health treatment, like counseling, will be beneficial for your child.
- Provide as much stability as possible: The uncertainty that accompanies divorce can leave your children feeling like they’re world was thrown into chaos. This can generate a lot of emotional and mental uncertainty, thereby leading to new, erratic, and sometimes even dangerous behavior. You can tamp down that risk, though, by stabilizing as much of your children’s lives as possible. This might include keeping their schooling and extracurricular activity schedules or maintaining holiday traditions as much as possible. Be thorough in finding ways to provide your kids with the stability they need.
- Take care of yourself: To properly care for your children, you need a healthy mind and body. So, be sure to get plenty of rest, eat right, and find ways to reduce conflict in your divorce. By doing so, you’ll find it easier to help your children with whatever problems they’re facing.
Don’t let your divorce cause more damage than necessary
Marriage dissolution can threaten you and your family with a lot of irreparable harm. Fortunately, you can reduce or even eliminate that risk by developing a sound divorce legal strategy that seeks to protect your and your children’s best interests.
