Parents can have hurt and angry feelings, too. Divorce can make a parent feel unloved and unwanted. When you feel hurt and upset, it is hard to have energy for the everyday needs of your child. It can be hard to remember that just because one relationship has failed, you have not failed at love. You are still a lovable and loving person.
Divorce changes families in many ways.
But a mother and father who do not live together can still help their children feel safe, loved, and part of a caring family. Most children think they caused the divorce because they were bad. This is a problem between the grownups. It helps children when both parents are together to tell the news about the divorce. We tried and tried, but we cannot live together anymore.