Talking to your children about your impending divorce can feel like a daunting task and can evoke an array of intense emotions.
Before talking to your children it is most helpful to be on the same page about how, when and where you will speak to them. A divorce coach can help you with this process so that you can feel confident about how you want to handle this talk. Talking with your children together, knowing what you want to say and anticipating some of their reactions will make it easier.
In talking with your children, keep in mind that too much information regarding the details of the decision to divorce and what led up to it may not at all be useful or appropriate to share. However, details about the things that will impact their lives going forward is very appropriate and important to share. The more information they receive, the less anxious they will be.
Your children need to know that they are not the cause of the divorce, that they are loved and you are divorcing each other and not divorcing them. They need to know that you both will do your best to help them thorough this challenging period and that you will be keeping them informed of any decisions that have been made concerning their everyday lives including where they will live and where they will attend school. They need to be reassured that they will seeing both parents and what the parenting time schedule will look like. They also need to know that they will have the freedom to contact either parent when they are not with them. Allowing your children a full relationship with each parent is important to their development.
In speaking with your children, it is important to allow them to have their own reactions and feelings. One client told me that she was planning to tell the children that the divorce was” for the best”. The best for whom? It may be best for the couple or for one party in the couple, but the children may not feel that it is best for them as life as they know it will be changing. It is helpful for the parents to listen to their children’s point of view and to validate how they feel. It is not helpful to minimize the situation or try to talk them out of their feelings. This is a sad moment in their lives.
As daunting as it is, finally talking to your children can be relieving. If you can be mindful of what and how you are communicating, can listen and validate your children’s thoughts and feelings and can be reassuring about how much you love them and will continue to be available you will hopefully be on the road to a healthy conversation.
Nina Berk Knox, Ph.D. is a psychologist and Divorce Coach in Marin County.
Photo credit: Ann Buscho, Ph.D.
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