What Kids Need
What do children need from their parents during divorce?
• They need both parents to stay involved in their lives. Please write your children letters, make phone calls, and ask your children lots of questions. When you don’t stay involved, children feel like they’re not important and that they don’t really matter to you.
• Work hard to get along with each other. Try to agree on matters related to the children spending time with both parents. Children need to know they are not losing either of their parents because of the divorce.
• Support your children and the time that they spend with each of you. If you act jealous or upset, the child may feel like he or she must take sides and love one parent more than the other.
• Please communicate directly with the other parent so that the child does not have to send messages back and forth between you.
• When talking about the other parent, please say only nice things, or don’t say anything at all. When you say mean, unkind things about the other parent, your child feels like you are expecting him or her to take your side. Your children really just want to stay out of your fight. You are being a good parent when you allow them to do so.