Children and Divorce

Divorce is a life event with a high level of stress for the entire family. Research shows that the number of divorces is on a steady rise. Family is very important for development of the children and changes within the family, after the divorce, could make consequences on them. Children are dependent on parents and disadvantaged during divorce because it is out of their control. They cannot predict how long will it take and what will be the outcome of divorce which includes separation from close family members, school change, change of home, change of life style and so on. Children often lack information and skills to overcome the challenges that the divorce carries. Conflicting relationships between parents make up the biggest obstacle that makes it difficult for a child to successfully deal with changes in the family. Even though parents deal with heavy feelings, it is desirable to put them the child and his interests in the first place. In order to stabilize the family system it is needed 2 up to 4 years. Children differ from one another in the reactions to the divorce, but there are some emotional reactions that are characteristic for most children of divorced parents, and the most often children reactions are of depressive symptoms, anxiety, anger, lower self-esteem and so on. The emotional reactions of children during the divorce can vary relative to the gender and age of the child. However, the divorce of a parent does not necessarily have to be so negative for children, especially if parents behave in an adequate way and they endeavor to act in such a way to make this process as painless as possible for children.