Divorce can take a significant emotional toll on you, but it can be even worse for your children. The uncertainty of it all can upend their routines and life as they know it, leaving them worried about what their future will look like and how it’ll affect their schooling, their extracurricular activities, their friendships and the time they get to spend with their parents. Additionally, the conflict that stems from your marriage dissolution can riddle your child with stress and anxiety.
Is there a way to protect your children during divorce?
Yes. There are several steps you can take. One of the most critical is simply talking to your children. Here are some tips that you can use to effectively talk to your kids about divorce in a way that keeps them informed while still protecting them to a certain extent:
- Refrain from talking poorly about the other parent.
- Help your children identify things that won’t change during the divorce process and once the divorce is finalized.
- Be honest without going into too many details that will harm your children or spur troublesome questions.
- Truly listen to your children’s concerns and answer their questions as much as you’re able.
- Reassure your children that you love them and that they absolutely aren’t to blame for your divorce.
- Talk to the other parent about keeping consistency in routines and discipline so that you can inform your children of those changes.
Protect your children throughout your divorce proceedings
There’s a lot at stake in your divorce. But as you get wrapped up in all of it, you can’t lose sigh to of how your divorce impacts your children as well as what you can do to mitigate the harm that could be caused to them by the process. That’s why now is the best time to develop a strategy that takes into account every aspect of your life that could be impacted by divorce.