Articles Posted in Impact on Children

For more than 20 years, Public Broadcasting Service staple Sesame Street has avoided discussing divorce on the show. Now, the Sesame Workshop that produces the hit children’s show has created a 13-minute segment regarding the topic for specific and targeted audiences. Although the divorce segment will not air on live television, it was produced as part of a multimedia kit designed to tackle the issue head-on in an allegedly understandable and non-frightening manner. According to Lynn Chwatsky, Sesame Workshop’s Vice President of Outreach Initiatives, the Little Children, Big Challenges: Divorce, multimedia kit was created to demonstrate to the children of divorce that they are not to blame, nor are they alone in their experience.

The parents of an estimated one million children throughout the United States choose to separate or divorce every year. Because many of those relationships end before a child begins school, Sesame Street researchers reportedly decided it was time to finally address the issue of divorce on the show. An independent segment consultant and Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Robert Hughes, said parents who are going through a divorce often feel overwhelmed. The Sesame Street divorce kit was purportedly designed to give such parents a tool for helping their children cope with the normally emotional matter. Chwatsky stated the beauty of Sesame Street is that the Muppets can often do things for children that grown-ups cannot.

Each year, many Florida couples find themselves in the midst of a separation or divorce. The host of emotions associated with the end of a marriage can be overwhelming. Because of this, divorce can have a profound impact on both parents and their minor children. A strong support network of family, friends, and even professional counselors can help divorcing parents maintain a positive outlook and help their kids adjust to their new circumstances more easily.

A final judgment of divorce for the parents of minor children in Florida will include a time-sharing agreement and a parenting plan. A time-sharing plan will outline a child’s schedule and state where he or she will spend overnights, holidays, and other important dates throughout the year. If you are a Florida parent who is considering divorce, you should contact a capable divorce attorney for assistance.
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Going through a divorce can be stressful for everyone involved, including a couple’s children. Although a separation or divorce will impact each child differently, it is still a time filled with transitions. For children, a divorce can mean moving out of the family home, changing schools, new scheduling and custody demands, and meeting a parent’s new partner. Understandably, when parents divorce many children feel angry, confused, guilty, or exhibit symptoms of anxiety. There are several steps parents can take in order to make the adjustment period following marriage dissolution easier on their kids.

It is important for newly separated or divorced parents to encourage their children to openly communicate both positive and negative feelings. Most children will have a lot of questions and display a wide range of feelings about their new life. Although parents should keep a child’s feelings completely separate from their own, it is a good idea to ensure children going through their parents’ divorce that lines of communication with parents are always open. It may also be helpful for children to discuss their feelings with a friend whose parents recently became divorced. Divorcing parents should also regularly remind their children that the separation was not way the child’s fault.

In order to make the adjustment to separate households easier, divorcing parents should not put their children in the middle of parental conflict or animosity. No matter what a divorcing couple’s situation is, it is always a good idea for parents to make an effort to remain both neutral and factual when discussing either the divorce or their former spouse around their kids. To help keep children from feeling like they must ‘choose’ a side, any heated disagreements should be discussed away from the former couple’s kids. Additionally, children should not be placed in the role of either messenger or spy.

One of the best ways for a divorcing parent to ensure the separation does not impact children negatively is to take care of themselves as well as the kids. Although divorcing is not easy, a strong support network of family, friends, and even professional counselors can help a parent in the midst of a split maintain a positive outlook. This may help kids adjust more easily.

In Florida, a final judgment of divorce for the parents of minor children will include a child custody arrangement and a parenting plan. Such an arrangement is also called a time-sharing plan. A time-sharing plan will outline where a child will spend overnights, holidays, and other important days of the year. If you are a parent who is considering divorce, you should contact a knowledgeable Florida divorce lawyer for assistance with protecting your rights.
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While divorce attorneys in Broward county often address the needs of minor children during the case, adults whose parents file for divorce after they have reached the age of majority may experience psychological difficulties in dealing with this matter. While the impact on younger children often includes invasion into a college fund or a parent’s new spouse or paramour residing in the former marital home, adults often are faced with the financial responsibility of taking care of an older parent. This can result in a failure to finish school, have an appropriate job and fund their own savings account.

Adults faced with parents who divorce later in life should not forget about their education, career or savings. Their parents should consult with tax experts and financial planners in equitably dividing the marital assets. Once your parents are divorced, it is important to have them consider purchasing long-term care insurance. While it may be important to ensure that family heirlooms do not disappear during a divorce, it is important to look after your divorced parents by providing financial advice and education.

When a party files for divorce in Broward, their lawyer will remind them that a judge frowns upon a parent who speaks poorly about the other parent in front of the minor children. Many parents fight about their relationship and use their children as ammunition. However, judges practicing in the marital and family division in Florida often believe that this conduct is one of the worst things that children can experience.

Children love both of their parents. They want to have time-sharing and access with both of their parents. Yet, when children hear one parent disparage the other it damages the child’s self worth since they have a sense of loyalty to both parents. During a divorce in Fort Lauderdale, parents should minimize the damage that child custody litigation and fighting can cause to a child.

Parents who separate often believe that they are acting reasonably. However, this is rarely the case. Exercising shared parental responsibility and co-parenting during and after a divorce is not easy.

When a third grade teacher recently got divorced, she had trouble explaining the concept to her two children, ages 4 and 7. While the children had some knowledge about a divorce, the wife decided to read books that dealt with child custody matters such as time-sharing, shared parental responsibility and parenting plans in order to help her children understand what their parents were going through. Now, divorce attorneys in Miami-Dade and Broward may recommend that you purchase a book by Kristi Schwartz titled Divorced Together For the Sake of Children. The book was released on January 22, 2010 and may help Florida children understand about a divorce.

When you meet with your Fort Lauderdale divorce lawyer, you will ask many questions related to alimony, child support, property distribution and child custody matters such as time-sharing and a parenting plan. However, Broward divorce lawyers are often asked how a client should tell their children that they are getting divorced.

Couples should try to separate before filing for divorce and explain to their children that they have not been getting along very well and want to see if that helps. Never blame the other parent, even if there was an affair or other reason that you are filing for divorce. Once you have your new living arrangements it is important to discuss this with your children since it is important for them to know what will and what will not change in their lives.

It is very important for you to explain to your children that the divorce is not their fault and has nothing to do with anything that they have done. While you should encourage your children to ask questions, it is important to give them time to adjust. Last but not list, have your children meet with a therapist if they are not adjusting well if you observe sleeplessness, clinginess, angry acting out, truancy, depression and drug or alcohol use. If you do not know a therapist for your children, you can always ask your Fort Lauderdale divorce attorney for a suggestion.