On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Child Custody on Thursday, February 13, 2014.
It goes without saying that any child whose parents divorce will feel the impact of that decision sooner or later. What parents might want to consider when they are considering a divorce is the timing of that impact. Immediate child custody issues aside, it might take years for a divorce to really settle in for a young person.
Studies have shown that while, in the long run, divorce can be a useful tool for parents who wish to split up, the children who are involved almost never want their parents to split. It isn’t their decision, of course; however, this can foster feelings of resentment against one or both parents that could linger for years, if not a lifetime.
Statistically speaking, children who are too young to remember their parents divorcing are the ones least affected by it. This is because they aren’t able to compare living in a single-parent household with living in a two-parent home. Older children, meanwhile, frequently tab their parents’ divorce as the most impactful event of their entire childhoods.
Another thing to keep in mind is that boys often have a rougher time with divorce than girls do. This is generally attributed to the lack of daily interaction with their fathers, since most children of divorce spend more time with their mothers, who often have primary custody.
That last point should be especially noteworthy to fathers who want to continue to have a presence in the lives of their kids. Having the right representation at the time of divorce can go a long way toward making that happen.
Source: The Hays Daily News, “Divorce can have dramatic impact on children,” Judy Caprez, Feb. 3, 2014
