During and after a divorce, there can be the potential for children to feel caught in the middle and like they have to choose between one parent and the other. However, it doesn’t have to go this way. Divorcing parents can take steps to be supportive of their kids during this complex time and keep their kids from being put into a difficult position.
Among thing parents can do help prevent their kids from feeling caught in the middle in relation to a divorce are:
- Stay focused on the children’s needs: This can help parents stay away from inadvertently straying into territory that could expose kids to unnecessary challenges.
- Don’t make children pick sides: This not only includes staying away from directly asking kids to do this, but also avoiding conduct that could inadvertently make a child feel like picking sides is necessary.
- Don’t use the kids as weapons: Parents may have a range of arguments with each other during and after a divorce. It is vital that they don’t try to use the children as leverage or bargaining chips during such disputes.
- Be careful about what is said around the kids: When one parent bad-mouths the other parent when the children are around, it can be very hard on the kids.
- Continue to spend some time together with the children: While in some cases this may not be possible, having such together time can play an important role in kids feeling loved and supported by both parents.
Additionally, one thing that can be very important for kids after a divorce is having the right child custody setup for the circumstances. Child custody arrangements come in a very wide range of varieties. How well-aligned the arrangement ultimately reached is with a child’s best interests can have very big impacts on the child. Skilled child custody attorneys can help divorcing parents with their efforts to find the right arrangement for their family’s unique situation.
