Divorce does not change the fact that parents have a responsibility to continue to raise their child together and to keep in the forefront of their minds what is in the best interests of the child throughout the process. We should not embrace divorce as an answer to all our problems, because it does cause more problems which need thorough consideration. Neither should we be afraid to divorce if it is in the best interest of the family. A family is a system. We cannot underestimate the pain inherited by our children for marriages that are unworkable.
Children of divorce suffer.
And so do children who are steeped in conflict and pain unchanged over years in their parents' marriage. These adult children may never marry, because of the pain they perceive as marriage. They do not expect happiness in marriage because it has not been their experience of their parents' relationship. Some children will suffer more if the marital discord is covert instead of out in the open. Sometimes parents feel they can protect their child from pain by shielding them from the conflict.