Minimizing Negative Effects of Divorce on Children

             Try to think of one friend you know whose parents are divorced. If you think about it, it's not very difficult to do. Even though divorce rates have decreased since 1996, divorce is still very common - in fact, every thirteen seconds a couple gets a divorce (6,646 divorces every day). (Irvin, 2012). Statistics in February 2012 showed that the "overall probability of marriages ending in divorce falls between 40% and 50%" (O'Shea, 2012).
             Going through a divorce can be very difficult, especially for a child. I have a friend who is still dealing with the negative effects of her parents' divorce even though it happened a long time ago. Divorce is something that could take many more years to accept, admit and adjust to. Children may hurt from the loss of their family unit. Schedules, plans, holidays and birthdays may not be the same as they were before. A new partner may come into a parent's life, and housing arrangements often change. All of these changes can be overwhelming to children and could lead to problems later in life. Sometimes, divorce can be so overwhelming that it leads to suicide. How a child's divorcing parents break the news to their children, and how they act throughout the process will make a big difference in how the children will cope with the separation (Myburgh Law, 2011).
             When telling a child about a impending divorce, it's best that both parents do it together (Myburgh Law, 2011). Both parents must take some responsibility for the divorce instead of blaming the what's happening on one parent or the other (Knox&Schacht;, 2011, p.269). It's also important to take the child's age into consideration when explaining the divorce. Giving general reasons is usually the most appropriate (Myburgh Law , 2011). For example:
             "A while back we told you that we were having a really hard time getting along,
             and that we were having meetings with someone called a therapist who has been
             ...

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