There's a good chance the bully pounding your kid in the playground has parents who are pounding one another verbally, if not physically. Kids from high conflict homes also often do poorly in school. By far, physical violence between parents is the most toxic form for their children. Studies have shown that the sons and daughters of battered wives are four times more likely to experience mental health problems later. The more fighting kids see, whether physical or verbal, the more sensitive they become to its effects.
Children have extraordinary antennae for picking up emotional cues from their surroundings.
Body language and tone of voice reveal more than parents realize. The assumption has always been that divorce ends marital conflict and in that sense is in the best interest of children. But it ain't necessarily so. In many cases the fighting instead escalates after divorce, Cummings observes. If the battling continues, kids are likely to suffer.