Divorce the Break-Up of a Marriage Involving

Divorce

The break-up of a marriage involving children in the middle childhood stage is an increasingly frequent occurrence in modern society. Children experience these divorces in a variety of ways, depending on the quality of the relationship between the parents and children. Either way, the effect upon self-esteem could be significant. Children learn behavior patterns from parents. When parents face self-esteem issues from being unable to make their relationship work, this will undoubtedly affect children as well. Children might also blame themselves for the break-up of the marriage, and thus carry this often unnamed burden with them until adulthood. A divorce could therefore be a devastating thing for children, and careful attention should be paid to possible therapy options.

Parents that stay together regardless of endless conflict could be equally damaging for the development of self-esteem in middle childhood. Constant hostility and tension between parents could badly affect the growth of self-esteem in children. In conflict situations for example, insulting and degrading comments aimed at each partner result in self-esteem problems for both parents and children who identify with these parents. Furthermore, children could be one of the issues that parents are in conflict about. Children may thus mistakenly feel that they are part of the problem and develop low self-esteem as a result.

3. It is therefore clear that divorce could be both positive and negative for children, depending on the circumstances of each situation. Making the decision for or against divorce is undoubtedly a difficult one, and should probably be done with help and counseling for both parents and children. Parents need to be aware of possible self-esteem issues facing their children both in a parental conflict situation or when opting for divorce. Children need to be reassured of the love of both parents, regardless of the conflict and hostility that parents may feel for each other.

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