Divorce isn’t an easy subject to talk about with most people, however, your children will eventually need to know about the news. Some parents believe that their children should know about the news before anyone else does. This is so that the news about the divorce doesn’t reach their children before they’re ready to have the talk.
Having this talk early may help your children process the changes. It may help to read the following if you think it’s time to talk about your divorce to your children:
Tell your children why the divorce is happening
As a parent, you want what’s best for your children, which may be why you’re going through a divorce. There could be difficulties making parenting decisions with your spouse, your spouse could be struggling with addiction or your children may be in danger around your spouse. However, your children might not see it that way, which is why it helps to talk about why the divorce is happening.
Talking about why the divorce is happening may also help prevent your children from trying to “fix” the marriage. This can happen when children blame themselves for their parent’s divorce.
While it’s easy to say why a divorce is happening, it may not benefit children to go into every detail. You should consider finding a kid-friendly way of explaining the divorce.
Talk about what will change after the divorce
If you’re not sure your children understand what your divorce means, it could help to talk about what will change in the future. You might need to talk about how the divorce could lead to your children living in different homes, going to new schools or only seeing one parent at a time.
You cannot know exactly what will happen after your divorce, but you may be able to have some idea with legal guidance.