When you are a Michigan parent of young children and your marriage is ending, it’s easy to forget how world-shattering it can be for your kids. As huge as it feels to you, things tend to feel even bigger when you’re younger.
Look at things from their perspective
When parents split up, it may feel to their kids like the ground is falling out from beneath their feet. When you’re one of those parents, this is understandably hard to think about, but it’s extremely helpful if you can.
Taking some time to look at your divorce from the kids’ perspective can make everything go much smoother for them. Although it will be heartbreaking, you may be able to minimize the heartbreak this way.
January has been designated as International Child-Centered Divorce Month. This is partly to counter its other nickname, which is simply Divorce Month.
There’s no mystery behind that name: People just get divorced more often in the first month of the new year in the wake of the holidays. For divorcing parents, with as much as they have on their plate already, it’s important to make space in your concerns for the ones you care about the most.
Ask yourself what’s most important
If you’re feeling stressed because resolving all of the divorce-related issues seems like an insurmountable challenge, it may be a good time to stop and think about the children. The vast majority of parents would certainly rank their kids higher than any financial asset if they actively considered it.
It’s easy for survival instincts to override your drive to nurture, even if you’re the world’s best parent. By taking a moment to put everything into perspective, you can reprogram your mindset to ensure that you’re doing the very best for your kids even when life isn’t going as planned.