Even though divorce can be hard on anyone, it often takes an additional toll on kids. Regardless of age, children may experience sadness, anger, anxiety or depression in the lead-up to the end of their parents’ marriage. Of course, as a caring mother or father, you want to do what you can to make the experience as positive as possible.
There are many ways to mitigate the emotional turmoil the young ones in your family are likely to experience. A common one, collaborative divorce, has some advantages for you, as well. As opposed to engaging in an all-out battle, collaborative divorce allows you and your spouse to work together to reach an acceptable outcome. Here are three ways this approach is apt to be good for your kids:
1. Conflict reduction
Marriages falter for a variety of reasons. Often, though, spouses butt heads in the months or years before deciding to call it quits. Because conflict can make everyone in the family feel anxious, looking for ways to reduce it usually makes sense. With collaborative divorce, you and your partner work together to tackle problems, likely putting your children at ease.
2. Financial stability
Traditional divorces can be expensive. Collaborative divorces, by contrast, tend to be less so. Accordingly, you and your spouse may have more financial resources to pay bills and support the kids. While money does not buy happiness, it certainly can create the sort of financial stability that immediately benefits your children.
3. Emotional security
Your divorce will not last forever. Eventually, you, your soon-to-be ex-spouse and your children will begin new life chapters. To boost everyone’s odds of thriving after the divorce concludes, you likely want to focus on emotional security. Because a protracted court battle can be tremendously stressful for your kids, using a collaborative divorce to control raw emotions may be a better strategy.
Even though divorce is rarely easy on anyone in the family, you can take steps to ensure your kids make it through the process without long-term psychological harm. While a collaborative divorce is not right for every divorcing couple, it may help you protect the young ones in your life.