Divorce and how it affects a child Divorce and how it affects a child If you are going through a divorce, have gone through a divorce or know of someone who has, you must know that divorce is a devastating and traumatic thing to endure. It is already difficult and painful for the husband and the wife, but divorce hurts more than just two people. Divorce is equally painful and traumatic for the children. There is much controversy about how divorce affects children.
Many studies show that, to a child, divorce is equivalent to the pain of the death of the parent.
There is a great loss, with grief and sadness, and confusion for the children. Children most always believe that they are the cause of the divorce. They think that the parent who left, actually left them or left because of them and that the parent doesn t love them anymore. Often the parents are so consumed in their own grief or turmoil that they fail to see the devastating effects of the breakup on the children. Children of divorce have more difficulty in school, more behavior problems, they often have low self esteem and think they are worthless and bad, more problems with peers and more trouble getting along with their parents.