Four Ways to Protect Your Kids During the Divorce Process

Divorce is often devastating for both partners, but it’s usually even more devastating for the children involved. When you’re going through a divorce it may seem as if you hardly have the emotional energy to take care of yourself, much less take care of the emotional needs of someone else, but children need extra attention and reassurance. Here are four things you can do to make divorce a little easier on them.

Keep things the same as much as possible. A divorce is a big change for everyone in the family, and change is stressful. The fewer extra changes there are besides the divorce, the better. Favorite bedtime reading, favorite foods, favorite games—this is the time to make sure your children have lots of access to the things they really enjoy. If you have a tradition of watching superhero movies every Friday night with a big tub of popcorn, keep the tradition going.

Don’t confide in your kids. They don’t want to know about Dad’s girlfriend or Mom’s problems at work. The less they know about the issues their parents are arguing about, the better. It may not be possible to keep everything from children, but they’re just not equipped to advise their parents about very grownup problems.

Don’t fight in front of the children. They need to see their parents as dependable and in control, and people are likely to get frighteningly out of control in heated arguments. Children may also feel that they need to take sides, and this can make them feel anxious and guilty.

Make sure there are lots of positive things for the kids to do. If they take music lessons, this might be a great time for the whole family to take in a concert. Visits to the zoo or to the natural history museum could inspire exciting conversations, even new hobbies. A field guide to trees might make a walk around the neighborhood an education in itself.

Your children are innocent bystanders in your divorce. It’s important that you do everything possible to minimize the harm they will experience during this process. Please contact us today if you’d like to learn more!

Attorney Russell Amsberry

Attorney Russell J.G. Amsberry

Attorney Russell J.G. Amsberry founded the Amsberry Law Firm in 1995 with the goal of providing clients with exceptional, focused representation on their issues. His success as a legal advocate has been reflected in the numerous professional honors he has received, such as speaking engagements and inclusion in Scene in SA magazine’s listing of the best lawyers in San Antonio, a Distinguished rating from Martindale-Hubble, and an amazing rating from Avvo. [ Attorney Bio ]

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Amsberry Law Firm

The Amsberry Law Firm, founded in 1995, has helped thousands of clients overcome their unique legal challenges.

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