The Effects Of Divorce On Children

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In today’s society divorce is a very common and it affects many families and children around the world. Many kids are deeply affected by this and their parents need to know how to help them get through this tough time. Over the past year, there have been over one million children affected by divorce and more than about 800,000 divorces in the United States alone. (cite helping children and families). The reaction the child has usually involved the age of the child from infants all the way to adolescents, they all have different reactions and are affected in a different way. Many of the children feel as if their world is falling apart but a lot of these feelings are just short-term. For some kids, the effects are just short-term and they …show more content…
The age span of infants is usually from birth to about one year old. They do notice the separation by the change in the routines of the caregiver and in this case the infant’s parents. They also can have a break in attachment with the parent that leaves where they usually stay during the divorce. At around six months old the infant's stranger anxiety can increase and so can their normal separation anxiety. Infant’s mood can change they can become fussier, listless and more irritable. There sleep and eating patterns can also change due to the separation. We move up an age group to toddlers, the age span of toddlers is usually from age one to around three. They can experience an increase in their separation anxiety with their parents. The toddler won't want to leave their parent not even if they are common with the area.(cite helping children and families) “Joe was around three and four when his father and I split up he wouldn’t leave my side for a few months I'd have to pry him off my leg to go to work” said by Barbara D’amico. Some toddlers can go as far as losing their abilities to use the toilet and even the ability to …show more content…
These kids are old enough to know some of the reasons why their parents are splitting up and can tend to show favoritism towards one parent more than the other or show more dislike toward both. These children can also feel the same away about their parents before they even knew about the divorce. Children can also think that their parents will end up getting back to together. The idea of suicide is increased in children this age with separated parents.(cite helping children) “My parents split when I was about fourteen it was a terrible time for me I always felt mad at didn't want to do anything, the first few months were the hardest on me.” said by Leah Smith. Divorce is hardest on the children the first few months because all this change is so new to them. There are many ways parents can help their child cope with the divorce and try to help prevent them from having long-term effects because of the