Elizabethtown Child Custody Lawyer – How To Talk To Your Child About Divorce
A divorce is difficult on all family members, especially your children. Children can go through periods of depression, fear, confusion, and anger as they deal with the separation of their parents. The best way to deal with this is to face the problem head-on. Trying to hide the fact that you are separated and you are filing for a divorce only serves to heighten the fear and tension a child may feel about the changes that are out of their control. Talking with your child may relieve some of his or her fears about the divorce.
Below are tips for talking to your child about your divorce from our Elizabethtown Child Custody Lawyer. We encourage you to contact our office to schedule a consultation to discuss your situation in greater detail.
Simple is Better
Keep the discussion of your divorce as simple as possible. This is especially important for younger children who may not understand some of the details of a divorce action. By trying to explain everything about the divorce, you may inadvertently cause confusion. Furthermore, you may cause your child to feel responsible for your divorce as you struggle to explain every detail. Explain to your child that mom and dad will not be living together; however, this does not change the fact that your child will continue to have both parents in his or her life.
Reassure Your Child
Your child may feel as if he or she is to blame for the divorce. Reassure your child that the decision to separate has nothing to do with what your child has done. In addition, reassure your child that there is nothing he or she could have done to prevent the divorce. Sometimes a child feels as if he or she was “better” that the divorce would not have happened. Tell your child both you and your ex-partner loves him or her and always will. Continue to reassure your child he or she will always have the love and support of both his or her parents even though you will not be living in the same house.
Do Not Criticize Your Ex-Spouse
A divorce is an emotional process; however, you need to keep your emotions in check when discussing the divorce with your child. It may be tempting to try to “win” your child’s favor by explaining how your ex-spouse did things “to” you to cause you to want to leave. However, this could harm your child’s well-being. Your child deserves to have the love and support of both parents, regardless of how you feel about your ex-spouse, excluding situations involving abuse or other harmful behavior. From a legal standpoint, badmouthing your ex-spouse in front of your children could harm your custody case. Avoid saying negative things about your ex-spouse in front of your children. If you cannot say anything positive, simply say nothing at all.
Always Be Available For Questions
Make sure your child understands you are always willing to answer questions. Your child will likely have questions about the divorce, custody, and visitation as the process continues. Therefore, always make yourself available whenever your child has questions, worries, or concerns about what is happening to his or her family. Knowing that he or she can come to you with questions without the fear of being rebuked is extremely important to keeping an open line of communication with your child during and after your divorce.
Contact an Elizabethtown Child Custody Lawyer
We’ve Helped Thousands of KY Families, we can help you!
The Elizabethtown Child Custody Lawyer of Musselwhite Meinhart & Staples, PSC wants to help protect your rights and protect your child as you work out a custody and visitation agreement. We try to settle custody matters by negotiating with your ex-partner to develop a parenting plan that is in the best interest of all parties. However, if your spouse is unwilling to compromise to do what is in the best interest of your child, our Elizabethtown Child Custody Lawyer is ready to aggressively fight for you and for your child in court.
Contact our office by calling 270-506-4052 to schedule a consultation with an Elizabethtown Child Custody Lawyer. You may also contact our office through our convenient online contact form. Do not make the mistake of thinking your ex-partner will be reasonable or flexible. It is better to have an experienced Elizabethtown Child Custody Lawyer on your side as soon as possible when it comes to dealing with matters related to custody, support, and visitation.