Most Alabama couples think that what is good for the parents is also good for their children. However, research shows that divorce negatively affects children. Here’s how.
Anger and irritability
When parents divorce, their children are met with a new circumstance that they are not prepared for or that they don’t have input on. They are often scared and confused, and these feelings can transform into anger and irritability. Children with divorced parents usually express their anger on friends, strangers, and parents. Some children blame themselves for their parents’ divorce.
Flopping grades
According to research, children with divorced parents have a higher tendency to drop out of school than their peers. They may start losing their passion for schoolwork, earning much lower grades than what they used to get. The research indicates that divorce makes children depressed, neglected, and easily distracted by their new norm or conflict between their parents.
Social withdrawal
Children often view their parents as their role models and believe that their parents can work through and solve any problem. When it gets to a point where their parents can’t solve their issues, it shatters their idea of life, togetherness, and love that they used to believe. Eventually, children with divorced parents may become fearful or uninterested in making friends, hanging out with people, or attending events.
Separation anxiety
This often affects younger children more, particularly from 18 months to about 6 years old. You might start to notice behaviors like increased temper tantrums, clinginess, crying, wetting beds, nightmares, etc. Older kids may also experience separation anxiety, which they can express in other forms like refusing to go to school, dropping out, showing fear of being alone, etc.
When you are going through a divorce, you should ease your children through it and get them into therapy during and after the divorce. Your separation affects them as much as it affects you; the difference is that they are younger and may find it more difficult to deal with. Making yourself available to your children and showing unconditional support can help them adjust to a new normal.