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Amy Morin, L. (2022, December 22). The psychological effects of divorce on children. Verywell Family. https://www.verywellfamily.com/psychological-effects-of-divorce-on-kids-4140170

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Anderson, J. (2014, November). The impact of family structure on the health of children: Effects of divorce. The Linacre quarterly. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4240051/

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In 2022, the Divorce Rate in the U.S.: Geographic Variation saw a slight rise after reaching a 40-year record low for two consecutive years (2020 and 2021) at 14.0 divorces per 1,000 married women. The rate increased to 14.56 divorces per 1,000 married women. However, it's important to note that the overall trend in the divorce rate has been downward since 2008, despite this slight increase from 2021 to 2022.

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The Center for Divorce Education: A Partner in Helping Children Succeed

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The Center for Divorce Education: A Partner in Helping Children Succeed

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The Center for Divorce Education is dedicated to offering families in need essential resources and programs. We aim to provide guidance, support, and practical strategies to help navigate through these challenging times. They have developed three programs that focus on the child's well-being throughout the divorce.

Their first program is called "Children In Between" and it is a four-hour online program The course is specifically created to meet the court's requirements for divorce education. It equips parents with practical techniques to decrease conflicts and create a nurturing atmosphere for children during divorce. By offering guidance on handling challenging situations and managing emotions, this program strives to minimize the stress children may experience and its potential effects on their education.

Their next program is called "Children In Between" for kids. This program is designed to cater to both parents and children between the ages of 7 and 14. It recognizes the importance of providing children with the necessary tools and strategies to comprehend and handle the challenges that accompany divorce. With its captivating and age-appropriate material, the program assists children in expressing their emotions, understanding that the divorce is not their fault, and acquiring effective coping mechanisms. By equipping children with knowledge and coping skills, this program aims to minimize the potential adverse effects of divorce on their academic performance and overall happiness.

Their third program is called "High Conflict Solutions. They have a solution for families facing intense conflict. Their 8-hour online course is called High Conflict Solutions. This program is specifically designed for parents going through a divorce and in need of a Level 2 or High Conflict Co-Parenting Course. Their course equips you with effective strategies to handle and minimize conflict, ultimately creating a more stable and less stressful environment for your children. By doing so, they aim to support their education and overall growth.

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Parental Divorce and Children From Diverse Backgrounds: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Mental Health, Parent–Child Relationships, and Educational Experiences

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Parental Divorce and Children From Diverse Backgrounds: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Mental Health, Parent–Child Relationships, and Educational Experiences

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Divorce, the legal termination of a marriage, represents a significant transformation in the family dynamics and frequently brings about a sequence of alterations in a child's life. The shift from a household with two parents to either single-parent residences or shared custody arrangements can be emotionally challenging. Children have to cope with the dissolution of their family unit, the strain of relocating to new homes, adapting to different schools, getting used to new routines, and dealing with a mix of emotions such as sadness, anger, or confusion.

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Divorce holds significant consequences for a child's growth, encompassing their emotional state, academic performance, and social connections. Extensive research has demonstrated that when parents divorce or separate, it can heighten the likelihood of adjustment problems for children and adolescents. These problems may manifest as academic challenges, disruptive behaviors, and a sense of melancholy.

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The effects of divorce on children can vary. Some kids respond to divorce in a natural and empathetic manner, whereas others may find it challenging to adapt to the changes. When a family goes through a divorce, it stirs up various emotions for everyone involved, including the children. They may experience feelings of grief, frustration, bewilderment, and many more. Divorce can leave children feeling inundated and emotionally fragile. It's crucial for them to have an outlet to express their emotions, someone who will be there to listen and provide comfort. The way children process their emotions can reveal the effects of the divorce on them. There are instances where children, faced with the overwhelming emotions triggered by divorce, find it challenging to navigate their feelings and end up feeling angry or irritable. This anger can be directed towards various perceived causes, including their parents, themselves, their friends, and others. Although for most children, this anger subsides after a few weeks, it's crucial to recognize that if it lingers, it may indicate a lasting impact of the divorce on them.

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It's important to acknowledge that the impact of divorce on children in school can be both direct and indirect, influencing various educational outcomes. Divorce can have a significant impact on children, affecting their ability to concentrate and stay motivated in school. The emotional strain caused by the changes at home can often result in lower academic achievements, reduced involvement in school activities, and behavioral problems in the classroom. The disruptions in their home life can be distracting, making it challenging for them to complete homework, and focus on their studies, and even causing them to miss school more frequently.

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The emotional turmoil a child undergoes when their parents divorce doesn't end once they leave their home and go to school every day.

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Growing up in divorced households often shapes individuals' perspectives on marriage, resulting in less favorable attitudes towards it and a greater acceptance of divorce. This less optimistic outlook on marriage can lead to reduced dedication to romantic partnerships, ultimately impacting the overall quality of relationships. Additionally, divorce can impact children's sexual behavior, potentially affecting their emotional well-being and stability in relationships.

Children whose parents went through a divorce may feel less at ease with intimacy, more inclined to avoid others and have less secure attachment styles compared to those whose parents stayed together. The concentration of oxytocin, which can be measured through urine samples, tends to be lower in individuals whose parents divorced. Adverse childhood experiences have been associated with various physical and mental health difficulties in adulthood, including anxiety and depression. Relationships are influenced by numerous factors. However, despite these connections, many children from divorced families can establish meaningful and stable relationships as adults.

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Divorce can be a difficult time for a family. Not only are the parents realizing new ways of relating to each other, but they are learning new ways to parent their children. When parents divorce, the effects of divorce on children can vary. Some children react to divorce in a natural and understanding way, while other children may struggle with the transition.

Children are resilient and with assistance the divorce transition can be experienced as an adjustment rather than a crisis. Since the children in a divorce vary (different temperaments, different ages), the effects of divorce on children vary, too. FamilyMeans understands this and approaches a divorce by understanding what the effects are on children of all dispositions.

With this in mind, here are some of the most commonly seen effects divorce has on children FamilyMeans can help parents manage:

Poor Performance in Academics

Divorce is difficult for all members of the family. For children, trying to understand the changing dynamics of the family may leave them distracted and confused. This interruption in their daily focus can mean one of the effects of divorce on children would be seen in their academic performance. The more distracted children are, the more likely they are to not be able to focus on their school work.

Loss of Interest in Social Activity

Research has suggested divorce can affect children socially, as well. Children whose family is going through divorce may have a harder time relating to others, and tend to have less social contacts. Sometimes children feel insecure and wonder if their family is the only family that has gotten divorced.

Difficulty Adapting to Change

Through divorce, children can be affected by having to learn to adapt to change more often and more frequently. New family dynamics, new house or living situation, schools, friends, and more, may all have an effect.

Emotionally Sensitive

Divorce can bring several types of emotions to the forefront for a family, and the children involved are no different. Feelings of loss, anger, confusion, anxiety, and many others, all may come from this transition. Divorce can leave children feeling overwhelmed and emotionally sensitive. Children need an outlet for their emotions - someone to talk to, someone who will listen, etc. - children may feel effects of divorce through how they process their emotions.

Anger/Irritability

In some cases, where children feel overwhelmed and do not know how to respond to the affects they feel during divorce, they may become angry or irritable. Their anger may be directed at a wide range of perceived causes. Children processing divorce may display anger at their parents, themselves, their friends, and others. While for many children this anger dissipates after several weeks, if it persists, it is important to be aware that this may be a lingering effect of the divorce on children.

Feelings of Guilt

Children often wonder why a divorce is happening in their family. They will look for reasons, wondering if their parents no longer love each other, or if they have done something wrong. These feelings of guilt are a very common effect of divorce on children, but also one which can lead to many other issues. Guilt increases pressure, can lead to depression, stress, and other health problems. Providing context and counseling for a child to understand their role in a divorce can help reduce these feelings of guilt.

Introduction of Destructive Behavior

While children go through a divorce, unresolved conflict may lead to future unexpected risks. Research has shown children who have experienced divorce in the previous 20 years were more likely to participate in crimes, rebelling through destructive behavior which harms a child's health, with more children reporting they have acquired smoking habits, or prescription drug use.

Increase in Health Problems

The process of divorce and its effects on children can be a stressful. Dealing with these issues can take its toll, including physical problems. Children who have experienced divorce have a higher perceptibility to sickness, which can stem from many factors, including their difficulty going to sleep. Also, signs of depression can appear, exacerbating these feelings of loss of well-being, and deteriorating health signs.

Loss of Faith in Marriage and Family Unit

Finally, despite hoping to have stable relationships themselves when they grow up, research has also shown children who have experienced divorce are more likely to divorce when in their own relationships. Some research indicates this propensity to divorce may be two to three times as high as children who come from non-divorced families.

Yet, while these are some of the possible effects of divorce on children, they are by no means absolutes, or written in stone. More and more, families understand just how stressful divorce is for their children, as well as their selves. Families have begun to turn to supportive services such as at FamilyMeans, seeking help to find a peaceful way to divorce. Through our Collaborative Divorce program, we are helping families more successfully navigate this transition, both for the sake of the parents, and for the children involved.

To learn how we can help you through your divorce, contact FamilyMeans today for more information.

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What Are the Effects of Divorce on Children?

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FamilyMeans helps families with counseling & therapy, caregiver support, debt & financial management, youth programs & grief support in Minnesota & Wisconsin.

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Questioning how divorce affects children's education often leads us to examine specific indicators of academic performance. In this section, we delve deeper into how divorce can influence a child's grades, school attendance and prospects for higher education.

Research indicates that children's academic performance typically suffers following a divorce [ ]. This is likely a combination of factors previously mentioned, from emotional distress and decreased concentration to changes in living arrangements and potential school switches. Below, we'll show how these factors translate into academic performance.

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How Does Divorce Affect Children's Education? A Closer Look

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Divorce's effects on children's education are numerous. Just how does divorce affect children's education? Join us for a closer look at the various effects of divorce on children's education and the ways we can lessen the impact.

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Demir-Dagdas, Tuba & Isik-Ercan, Zeynep & intepe tingir, Seyma & Cava Tadik, Yasemin. (2017). Parental Divorce and Children From Diverse Backgrounds: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Mental Health, Parent–Child Relationships, and Educational Experiences. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage. 1-17. 10.1080/10502556.2017.1403821.

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1. Open up communication and allow the child to express their feelings and assure them that it is normal to feel this way and to be upset.

2. Maintain consistency in the child's daily routine and environment and try not to add in any extra routines until the child is content with the current situation.

3. Stay involved with your child's schooling. Attend parent- teacher conferences and keep up to date on the child's behavior.

4. Keep the school informed and updated with the child's situation so they are aware if any behavioral occurrences happen they can interfere with proper care.

5. Reach out for professional help. It is okay to have to ask for additional advice and give the child support whether it is a school councilor, school psychologist, or other professional.

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FAMLi. (n.d.). Parenting . Parenting after separation or divorce. https://familylaw.plea.org/custody-access/parenting-after-separation-and-divorce

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Jaime. (2023, November 19). How does divorce affect children’s education? A closer look. The Center for Divorce Education. https://divorce-education.com/how-does-divorce-affect-childrens-education/

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After interviewing my roommate I learned that her parents were on and off from the time she was in elementary school up until he freshman year of college until they officially got divorced. Her parent's decision to have another child was not surprising because some couples think that having a kid will fix the issue.

I shared my own experience going through my parents' divorce at such a young age too to create questions and conversation. Relating to each other's experiences is what has brought us to where we are today as friends and roommates. We both share the experience we had with our parents and how it has affected who we are today.

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The controversial idea of parental alienation

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The controversial idea of parental alienation

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The concept of "parental alienation" suggests that one parent can intentionally manipulate a child to harbor negative feelings towards the other parent without any valid justification. Dr. Richard Warshak refers to this harmful phenomenon as "divorce poison."

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This piece of writing explores the effects of divorce on children from different racial and ethnic backgrounds using a variety of perspectives. The authors conduct a literature review on the impact of divorce on children's mental health, family relationships, and educational achievements, focusing on specific aspects of divorce in sociology, education, and family studies. Additionally, this study goes beyond previous research by examining the effects of parental divorce on children with special needs. The article concludes with a discussion on changes in family structure and child outcomes, providing implications for policy and practice to assist the current population.

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Even after years of fighting for the rights and acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals, it remains challenging to gather accurate data on the actual number of same-sex couples and their children. This is mainly because these families may hesitate to disclose their relationships due to the social stigma that still exists.

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Divorce brings about a fresh set of parenting challenges for couples with children. It's important for parents going through a divorce to recognize that certain aspects of their relationship with their children will undergo changes. When it comes to kids, the courts prioritize their well-being above everything else. Moreover, since children are still young, decisions made about them during the divorce can have long-lasting effects on their lives.

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Divorce brings about a fresh set of parenting challenges for couples with children. It's important for parents going through a divorce to recognize that certain aspects of their relationship with their children will undergo changes. When it comes to kids, the courts prioritize their well-being above everything else. Moreover, since children are still young, decisions made about them during the divorce can have long-lasting effects on their lives.

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Regardless of the circumstances surrounding their relationship with the other parent or other individuals, parents have both rights and responsibilities. According to the law, the well-being of the child should be the primary concern when making decisions about their care after a separation or divorce.

Bearing this in mind, there are actions parents can take to assist their children during the separation process and provide them with the necessary support to adapt to the changes within the family dynamic. It's crucial for parents to make an effort to prevent overwhelming their children with their own unhappiness or anger. Additionally, it's important to acknowledge that during a period when children particularly require support, affection, and consistent discipline, many parents are least capable of offering it.