Divorce and Children
A specialist in human development and family
studies from the University of Missouri discussed the impact of divorce
on children, mentioning that how they react strongly and differently to
their divorcing parents depends on their age.
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Infants:
higher degree of irritability, more crying and fussing, changes in
sleeping and eating habits.
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Toddlers:
they recognize the fact that one parent is no longer living at home,
they have a difficult time physically separating from a parent, may
express anger, may lose some skills previously acquired like toilet
training, going back to thumb-sucking, experience changes in
sleeping patterns, may have nightmares.
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Pre-schoolers and early elementary age:
may blame themselves for the divorce, may over-worry about changes
in their lives, may exhibit sadness and grieving because of the
absence of one parent, may be aggressive and violent to the parent
they blame for the divorce, may fantasize about their parents
getting back together.
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Pre-teens:
may feel abandoned by the departing parent, may withdraw from
friends and favourite activities, may exhibit strange behaviour and
use foul language, may feel angry and uncertain about their concepts
of love, marriage and family, may feel that they are growing up too
soon, and may find themselves preoccupied about their parents’
finances.
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