Divorce Guide

Effect of Divorce on Children

Effects of divorce on children are profound and massive. It does not only hamper the childhood but has far reaching effect on the adulthood also. Good relationship of the parents helps the child thrive and grow in a positive environment. Separation of parents leaves the child torn and wondering.

Parents get separated in order to end their struggle with each other, without realizing that they are pushing the child towards an endless struggle with himself and society. The young mind of the child fails to understand as to why his parents will not stay together anymore. He keeps wondering and thousands of innocent questions cloud his thoughts. The situation gets accentuated when the child sees around other children from happy families. They miss the bliss of happy parenthood and become loners.

Jason’s parents were divorced when he was 7 years old. Since then he was staying with his mother only. Whenever Jason went to carnivals, malls, or get together, he kept staring at children with both the parents. His mother could clearly make out that Jason was missing a male guardian.

In cases where the parents have drastic and violent arguments following divorce, the impact on kids is even worse. In most of the situations parents fail to overcome their ego and enter into heated arguments or even physical aggression in front of children. They do all this without realizing that it is going to affect their child’s personality in a very negative way.

To caution the couples who treat their divorce as a way to soothe their ego, here are some major effects of divorce on children:

1. If the child has experienced a lot of aggression or violence between his parents, he also becomes short tempered, quarrelsome, and impulsive. He has large amount of anger either towards others or himself, or both.
2. Children start suffering from withdrawal syndrome. They stay isolated and do not like to mix with family and friends. If this aggravates then the child also develops inferiority complex and loss of confidence.
3. Research has proven that children do not perform the same way after the divorce of parents. They get distracted from studies and lack concentration.
4. Children who have seen aggression become destructive by nature. They develop a tendency to harm others or destruct objects. Such children can also become abusive of their partners in future.
5. In most of the cases it is seen that children of divorced parents develop a lack of trust for everything around. After a turbulent childhood the child feels that the world is not the right place to stay.

Effect of divorce on children varies from situation to situation. A number of factors like age of the child, relationship of the parents before divorce, relationship post divorce, affect the child. Experts suggest that children who are very young as compared to teenagers or those who have experienced violence among their parents are affected in greater degree.

Another view is that if the relationship of the parents is really bad and there is a lot of aggression, then it is better that they get separated. The child will have a better time without fighting parents as compared to a peaceful life with a single parent.

Effects of divorce on children are profound but can be controlled to a large extent by the maturity and dedication of the parents.

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