How to tell when kids need help dealing with divorce (1)

When most Las Vegas parents divorce, their primary concern is the impact their split will have on their children, and rightfully so. Divorce is a major, life-changing event for kids, and it can have a variety of effects depending on the family and the child.

However, it is generally not difficult for a parent to recognize when the divorce is having a negative effect on their child or children. Most importantly, there are several steps parents can take to minimize and reverse these effects.

Here are a few common indicators that the children are having trouble dealing with the divorce:

Are the kids clinging to one another? If so, they may have lost faith in their parents’ ability to care for them, both physically and emotionally, and may be turning to one another to meet a variety of needs. In this situation, parents should ensure and remind their kids that they are handling vital parenting tasks such as preparing meals and helping with homework, continually reinforcing that they are able and willing to take care of the kids.

Are the kids siding with one parent or the other? If so, they may be caught in the middle of divorce disputes. It goes without saying that this can be very damaging. So in this situation, parents should encourage their children not to take sides or even focus on the divorce at all, but spend their time simply being kids.

We will continue our discussion of this topic in a second family law blog post later this week.

Source: The Huffington Post, “Are the Kids Alright?” Marie Hartwell Walker, June 7, 2012