In America, children are majorly affected by divorce and in today’s generation 50% of marriages end in divorce. Getting divorced can cause major issues for not only the parents, but also the children. More often than not, the child’s point of view and feelings are not taken into consideration during the time of parents making the decision on whether or not they want to get a divorce.
“Due to my parents still not getting along, it has put a negative image on marriage and other relationships for me in adulthood. However my parents do work better in different households. When they’re under the same roof, they can’t communicate with each other appropriately, so when they’re in separate houses they don’t have to communicate,” said Rebekah Marsh, child development teacher.
According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, blended families and single parent households are becoming more common all over the country. During the process of divorce, the children might be scared about events in the future, or confused by the threat to their security. When parents get divorced, studies show that it plays a huge role in kids’ lives. Things such as attitudes, behavior, how they act in school, and even how they view relationships. Due to a divorce, children in their older years may undergo more challenges with relationships. They could begin to view adult relationship separations as inevitable, preventing them from wanting to grow up.
“I feel that for a little while my parents worked better when they weren’t in the same house, but after a while it started going downhill. From the money differences between both of them, and how they choose to spend their money on me. However when they were in the same house together it was constant arguing, and I think it was definitely better when they lived in separate households,” said Greyson Hatrick.
There’s an old saying that goes, “What’s good for mom or dad, is good for the children.” Over countless studies on the issue of divorce, the old saying has been proven to be false. These studies have all pointed to the same inevitable thing, children suffer majorly when their parents decide to split up. Statistics show that children are supposed to be resilient and can bounce back from anything that life throws at them, however the same statistic says that this is very false. Children are equally affected by divorce as the parents are, if not more. However, children who are younger may be excited for their parents to separate, they may be looking forward to double holidays and maybe even birthdays.
Divorce is a huge issue for thousands of families in America and it affects everyone differently. Not every separation or divorce is going to look the same. When Hatrick was seven, his parents sat him and his siblings down and told them they were getting a divorce, ‘‘The next day my dad ended up moving out.” At an older age, he found himself more worried about how the divorce of his parents would affect his younger brother. “But at the same time, I was also sad for what the future of my family would look like,” said Hatrick.
