Child Development Affected by Divorce
Video Transcribed: Are you wondering about the different stages of child development and how they’ll respond to divorce? I’m the Tulsa fathers’ rights lawyer, and I’d like to do a little bit of a video on the different stages of child development and the responses to divorce.
Preschoolers may revert back to old ways developmentally. They may begin to wet the bed again or thumb-sucking as well as expressing fears of abandonment and greater irritability. Children age five to eight openly grieve the divorce.
They grieve the loss of the family unit, and they may attempt to rescue the family unit or rehabilitate the relationship of the parents. Children aged nine to 12 may very well blame themselves for the divorce, and this can include internalizing the situation and having actual physical symptoms like a stomach ache or headache. Children age nine to 12 may express intense anger, and they may also begin experimenting with tobacco, alcohol and/or marijuana.
Teens generally act out their anger through aggressive behavior. They tend to exhibit greater defiance to rules and authority figures, and their grades may very well be worse than usual. Teenagers also tend to express a preference to be outside of the home. They may want to be away from the marital home or the new homes of both parents.
What can you do? Respect the child’s right to have the feelings that they are having. Notice when they are having those feelings and comment on them in a non-judgmental way. Ask them indirectly about how they’re feeling and listen and be sympathetic. And then also it’s important to model appropriate expression of feelings for them so that they are better able to do it themselves.
Again, I’m. I’m the Tulsa fathers’ rights lawyer. This was a movie on the different stages of children and their responses to divorce. If you’ve got any questions, give me a call.
