Effect Of Divorce On Children

Marriage And Beyond

oi-Suparna Chakaraborthy

By Suparna Chakaraborthy

Friday, January 21, 2011, 11:59

Two people feel that they are not happily married and then one day they decide to part ways. They call for a divorce. The family is now divided into two and the worst one effected by it is the children. The effect of divorce on children is being given utmost importance due to rising rates of divorce in US and now also in India. Out of 6,647 adults, 695 had experienced parental divorce before the age of 18. According to a recent research, one of the worst effect of divorce on children is the suicidal tendency.

Lets look at some other effects of divorce on children -

1.Insecurity – One of the first effect of divorce on children is the feeling of insecurity. They are insecure about their future, about the happy family which they always had and about choosing between one parent. They want to hurt anyone of you and the same time wants t stay with both and lead a normal family life. This inbuilt insecurity and the fear of choosing among parents lead to suicide, depression and denial of life.

2.Fear Of Relationship – Children learn from examples. When they see a marriage failing and are exposed to the cruel side of it, they create an inbuilt fear of relationship. They feel that every relationship ends with a failure. This usually is the case with teenage children. They are on the verge of maturity and this fear of relationship can cause them being speculative of every relationship. This can cause heartbreak. Fear of relationship, can spoil their future.

3.Denial Of The Situation– Most children try to run away from the situation. In the attempt to deny the divorce and all the confusion related to the mishap they try several ways of distraction and attention. All of which is their attempt to get the family back together. Denial of the truth, lead them to take up all wrong ways and habits like alcohol, smoking and other addictions.

4.Hurts Self Esteem – They are in fear of the society talking about their parents divorce. This hurts their self-esteem and it's the most difficult time for them to answer questions. If this goes on since a long time, this may lead to low self-esteem, which affects them this growth and lifestyle.

5.Denial Of Life – On the most dangerous effect of divorce on children is the denial of life. Their mind is so preoccupied with the family falling apart, that everything else turns out to be worthless for them. The worst effected is their academics. Their results get hampered and low grades leads enhances their sadness. Them get themselves into deep trouble.

Your decision of divorce can mean freedom from all trouble for you, but for your children it might bring them a bad future. Thus, think twice before taking a decision. Here are some ways to handle children in case of divorce.