Mom and Dad are Getting a Divorce – How Will the Kids React?

Younger children receive the news of their parents’ divorce with different emotions than the reactions of teenagers or young adults.

Younger children may become fearful, afraid to be alone, less outgoing, and clingy. The stability, security of their world has been shattered, and their reaction is one of “what is going to happen to us”.

They fear that without the physical presence of both parents they may not have a home, may have to move and be viewed as different from their peers who have two parents.

Teenagers are annoyed, irritated as their parents’ problem (divorce) is creating a disruption for them. Teenagers are all about what is going on with them. They expect their parents to have it together, not disrupting the routine of their teenager’s busy life.

It is typical for both these age groups to show their unhappiness with negative behaviors, possibly, acting out at home and at school. Young adults often take the demise of their parents’ divorce with the most heartache. Their parents, typically, have been together for several years. They have had no reason to believe that mom and dad would be married any less than “forever”. Their parents had exemplified how to accomplish a forever marriage. Now, who is going to provide them with the guidance and knowledge to have a successful marriage?

Each age group responds with different reactions, but each age group needs to be reassured that mom and dad may be divorcing, but they are not divorcing their children.

Written By: Patricia Bubash

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About the Author:

Patricia Bubash received an M.Ed. in Counseling from the University of Mo. St.Louis. Mrs. Bubash is a Licensed Professional Counselor, and a Stephen Minister. Her career has spanned more than thirty years in the educational setting. In her many years as a counselor she,also, presented workshops at the community college in self-esteem, blending families, ADHD, and other parental issues. She took her experiences with families going through divorce, remarriage, and blending families to write her book, Successful Second Marriages. She has a website; www.successfulsecondmarriages.com. Her book can be purchased on amazon.com Mrs. Bubash writes for several sites: wwwdivorcesupportcenter, www.onelegacy.com and others.