As Michigan parents get ready to proceed with a divorce, their main concern is often how to protect and help their children deal with the changes and challenges of the process. For most parents, the goal is to help their children continue feeling loved, secure, supported and stable.
Keep the focus on the children
During a divorce, everyone involved might be struggling emotionally, and this is particularly true for children. To help them through this, parents need to remember to keep the focus on their well-being. Allowing them to share their feelings about the changes, getting them professional help if they need it and generally offering them emotional support will be invaluable.
Children need stability
Another way to help your children deal with the divorce is by maintaining their lives as stable as possible. While children will need to adapt to having their parents live in separate homes, there are other things you can do to keep their life stable. These include:
- Keeping their school and activities the same as before the divorce
- Not introducing unnecessary major changes
- Allowing them to continue with important relationships in their lives, such as with extended family members and friends
- Continuing the same rules and routines at home
Communication is the basis of a co-parenting relationship
The children will need to continue dealing with the divorce as they grow, and the best way parents can help them is by figuring out how to get along. Communication between the parents is a central part of a successful co-parenting relationship, so this is the first thing divorcing parents must figure out so they can help their children deal with the divorce process.
It is possible for children to overcome the challenges of divorce and grow into stable, emotionally healthy adults. Offering the support and love they need will be the key to achieving this.