Children can feel ignored at the best of times, even more so when their parents are in the middle of a divorce.
As parents, you have a million things to do when divorcing. You will need to attend hearings, consult advisors, search through old paperwork, rejig living arrangements, perhaps put the family home up for sale and more.
On top of that, you still need to work, shop for groceries, feed your child and send them to school looking semi-presentable. Spending “quality time” with your child may feel like a stretch too far. Yet, they need it now more than ever.
Children need you to support them through your divorce
One of the frustrating things for children is that they often do not get a say in things. Children get dragged along to Granny’s when they would rather play with their friends. They get forced to eat vegetables when they would rather eat ice cream. Yet all those are minor inconveniences compared to the changes a divorce will impose on a child.
As parents, you need to make time to sit with your children and explain how divorce will affect their life. You need to make time to answer the questions they will have about the changes, questions they may take weeks or months to formulate, questions you may never even have considered.
The world is full of children whose parents no longer live together. Your children will get used to the changes, provided you give them enough support. Giving them the information they need, when they need it, can help speed up their adaptation. It can help them regain some sense of control over a situation that is beyond their control.