But divorce, too often, is made to carry the whole burden of negative outcomes for kids. Never mind that the child had shown behavioural problems for the five years before the divorce, or that the intact family had been inattentive to the children. But the rising divorce rate shows many people, despite all they know about post-divorce financial and emotional hardship, still prefer to separate than to remain in empty, cold, loveless or violent marriages. What we heard this week is that family life doesn't stop after divorce. Many people knit new relationships with each other, putting aside personal hurt or loathing for the sake of the children.
Some people are incapable of the adjustment.
And no-one finds it easy, certainly not at first. And some kids are damaged. But many children do recover, and grow into rather special adults. Like any crisis, divorce can be a calamity, or it can be an experience that eventually leaves children a bit stronger, wiser and more compassionate. This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited.