The Effects Of Divorce On Children

Divorce is a process that millions of married couples go through when falling out of love. Family members, including children, parents, aunts, uncles etc. are affected by this common yet unsatisfying process. Unfortunately the children are the ones stuck in the middle of the chaos. From separation to expressing their feelings, children in divorce cases are more likely to be affected than others. While all of this chaos is happening they are helpless, either too young to understand or scared one parent might hate the other. Choosing sides is typical, but a harmful decision for a child to make. Teenagers also deal with the pain and anger of not knowing what to do. Even though children are too young to understand, the effect divorce has upon them

Dealing with hardships such as separation, bickering between parents, and the constantly posed “who do you want to live with?” questions can tear a child down, no matter what their age is. The stage they encounter is depression, a process in which people choose to deal with emotional issues in harmful ways. Some may choose to starve themselves because of the grief and stress the parents put on them, even if they don 't realize they are doing so. According to the article “Protecting the Children of Divorce” by Diana Mahoney, research has shown that children with divorced parents are at high risk for anxiety, behavior problems and substance abuse. Both stress and anxiety are usually caused by bickering, calling the other parent a name, and not staying involved in their lives. Also, according to helpguide.org, a child 's “list of wants” include both parents staying involved in their child 's lives. Writing letters, asking questions, and talking on a daily basis are necessary items children need from their parents. When parents become uninvolved in their children’s lives, that 's when their child suspects that they are no longer loved. Keeping words or phrases about the other parent kind and nice are also factors of a “healthy divorce”. Saying rude comments about the other to your child pushes them away from you. It is childish for an adult to say a snotty comment that a fifteen year old would say. What children want

Diana Mahoney states in her article that “more than 1 million children experience divorce each year” and of these children at least 25 percent will experience some sort of mental health issue that will stay with them through adulthood. These health concerns can be prevented and/or dealt with by outside resources, including psychologists, school counselors, family counselors and interventionists. Psychologists and counselors are more likely to deal with children that have anxiety, while interventionists are more likely to deal with substance and drug abuse. In the article “Children of Divorce” by Wendy Cole and Steven Manning, physiologist Judith Wallerstein from California found that “ of more than 100 children, she followed for a decade, almost half entered adulthood as worried, lonely and sometimes angry.” She also stated that after ten years of the divorce, children were likely performing at a lower level because of the behavior problems they encountered while being raised by separated parents. As for substance and drug abuse in children of divorce, more are likely to become alcoholics and suffer from drug addiction. Another problem children with divorced parents might encounter as they reach adulthood is their own personal marital status. As found in the article from “Child Law Practice Newsletter, “children of divorced parents are roughly twice as likely to see their relationships end in divorce compared to their peers from