Early Childhood Into Adolescence : A Time Of Development And Change

In the introduction to the article, the authors David Gately and Andrew Schwebel best wrote “Karl Zinsmeister uses studies of children and divorce to argue against the contention made by many parents that it is better to divorce than to rear children in a marriage with conflict. He maintains that children’s sense of stability and family structure supersedes parental needs.” Throughout the article Zinsmeister uses the headings “Fear and Loathing of Divorce Among the Young”, “Short and Long-Term effects of Divorce on Children”, and “A Catalogue of Behavioral Changes” as a platform to prove/explain his opinions and back them by research.

There are instances where divorce is essential. In cases such as verbal or physical abuse of a spouse or child, divorce may be the only solution. However, the negative effects of divorce have a large impact on family structure. Divorce can be very stressful for young adult children, with a sense of increased responsibility to their parents and a vulnerability to loyalty conflicts with both parents. In addition, this article proclaims that young adults may experience a sense of loss of their family home, abandonment by their parents, and a concern

The rate of divorced parents is growing daily according to divorcestatistic.org, the divorce rate in America for the first marriage is between 41 and 50 percent. Divorce does not only happen between the spouses, especially when there are children involved. Marriages might end with divorce due to conflicts. Divorce can also occur due to loss of connection and intimacy in a ten to twelve year marriage (Psych page, Gottman Research). Communication problems between spouses can cause one of the spouses to be very abusive. An abusive parent can harm the child and lead to psychological problems in the future. In addition, criticism plays a vast role in the relationship; one spouse might say, “What kind of person are you?” (Psych page, Gottman Research). In my experience, this question allows the problem or fight to escalate.

Many children will adjust to their parents ' divorce, but some will continue to have significant problems into adulthood. Parents ' sensitivity to their child 's needs is one of the most important factors in facilitating adjustment. Other factors such as the child 's age, gender and temperament will also influence how well the child adjusts. Preschoolers tend to be "emotionally needy," have fears related to abandonment, and may display acting-out behaviors following their parents ' divorce or separation. Preschooler are likely to become very distressed during visit exchanges. Boys and girls tend to react differently to their parents ' divorce. As a rule, girls tend to become anxious and withdrawn, while boys tend to become more aggressive and disobedient. Girls from divorced families may become sexually active earlier than girls from intact families. Interestingly, boys often adjust better when their mothers remarry, while girls have more difficulty. Children of divorced families tend to have long-term adjustment difficulties when there is ongoing conflict between their parents. Boys are likely to display marked behavior problems when this exists. Children 's adjustment is also determined by the amount of conflict the parents had before the divorce. Researchers have found that children in divorced families, where there is little conflict following the divorce, do not differ in adjustment than children from low conflict intact

For couples with children divorce can wreak havoc on family relations. The behavior of children can change rapidly, in Cherlin (1993) it has been stated that, “children whose parents separated or divorced displayed more behavior problems and performed more poorly in school than children whose parents remained married” (para. 3). It is important to note that each child is affected differently and relationships with parents will not always be bitter (Cherlin, 1993). The personal source is a friend of many years whose parents divorced when she was very young. Her brother was also very young at the time of the divorce; each of them as male and female reacted differently to the divorce, just as it has been seen in many studies (Alex Pringle, Personal Communication, May 10,

Anyone going through a divorce can have a stressful toll no one can want or afford to get. Over time divorce has drastically changing over the years. Divorce was relatively uncommon and difficult to get before 1970 (Why have divorce rates increase over time?). In the United States researchers estimate that 40%-50% of all first marriages will end in divorce or permanent separation (How common is divorce and what are the reasons?). The risk of divorce is even higher for second marriages, about 60% (How common is divorce and what are the reasons?). In today’s society divorce is increasing more often than ever. As the number of divorced parents increase, the children of the divorced parents are more likely to get divorced (Why have divorce rates increase over time?). For many reasons can be the case when divorce happens. There are many factors leading to cause divorce, also there are alternative routes to help cope with divorce. Couples change, grow and develop from their spouse. Couples interests become incompatible as a result, their marriage begins to suffer.

In modern day society, many people are finding it is becoming more and more acceptable to get a divorce. Even the word family itself has changed so drastically, it’s no wonder divorce is so high. What many people don’t realize is that divorce can possibly have a serious effect on children and their behaviors. Many studies have been conducted and have shown a variety of long term, as well as short term effects that children have developed after they’ve experienced going through divorce, one effect divorce could have on children is the risk of the child developing behavioral issues.

Divorce is becoming all too popular in our society today. When a couple experience tough times or have one too many arguments, they automatically think divorce. Despite its prevalence couples are not prepared for it’s long, drawn out, hurtful process. Divorce does not only hurt the individuals involved, it also affects the children tremendously. While many people don’t think divorce is a bad thing. Hollywood makes divorce look cool and uneventful. When in all reality, it is disruptive. Some people would say that divorce is a lazy way out of a marriage; the cowardly thing to do when a situation presents itself. Divorce is not the only answer to marital problems, in most cases.

On one hand, the struggles of divorce cause stress in children's’ lives, and leave them to form mature, adult relationships without a strong marriage to look to for advice. Children must not be treated as though they are the cause of a separation because that kind of psychological damage is extremely intolerable On the other hand, the end of relationships is part of the natural progression in life, and children can potentially benefit from learning that truth early on. Children of divorce may also become more resilient than their peers, making them stronger students and employees later on in life. Undoubtedly, people who happily get married do not dream of divorce, however it is an unfortunate reality of many families. Furthermore, in these families all have different experiences, so it is extremely difficult to draw one conclusion for all these children. This issue focuses on whether or not divorce is harmful to children, and whether it causes irreversible psychological damage. Parents do their best to prevent separations from happening, however life moves quickly and sometimes people grow apart. Regardless, divorce is an extremely prevalent social issue in the United States, and it is important to impress upon children that no matter how divorce may affect them, it is under no circumstances ever their

Marriage creates stability, emotionally and socially for a child. According to Dr. Pickhardt, a psychologist and author of 15 parenting books, a child’s social life is primarily found in his or her family. A child depends fully on his or her parents, and after a divorce a child loses trust in dependency since the parents are now behaving in an undependable way. The child is now divided between two different households and shuttled back and forth. This creates unfamiliarity, instability, and insecurity. The child can never be with one parent without being apart from, and missing, the other parent (Pickhardt, 2011, para. 6). Rosalind Sedacca, CCT, is a divorce and parenting coach and the founder of the Child-Centered

Over studied in the 40 years, parental divorce has caused a wide range of behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents. Although the media tends to emphasize the negative aspects of divorce and impact that divorce has on children, not all married families are happy ones and they do not always offer a better environment; the majority of children from divorced families are emotionally well adjusted. In the article, reasons of divorce could be difference in cultural values and social integration, race and ethnicity, extramarital affairs…These weren’t the stressors on the kids, it is the diminishing of parenting from the separated parents that made them suffer. The loss of important relationship means the erosion of closeness and meaning of relationship with

Over half of all marriages end in divorce. What effect do these divorces have on the young children involved? Many people assume that the changes involved in divorce would naturally lead to some emotional problems, with potential permanent ramifications. Hidden in this view, however, is the assumption that the traditional, two parent families is the most appropriate environment in which to raise

Divorce negatively affects teens academic success. “It diminishes learning capacities and high school and college attainment” (Fagan, 1999). In general most children live with their mother after their parents go through a divorce. “The absence of the father lowers cognitive test scores for young children in general, but especially for girls’ math scores.”, “By age thirteen there is an average difference of half year in reading abilities between children of divorced parents and those from intact families.” (Fagan, 1999). Divorce is at an all time high in the United States. Divorced parents is affecting children of all ages and it is even beginning to affect those in adulthood. “Molepo (2012) explains that ‘the findings suggest that teachers perceive younger children from divorced parents were more likely to have emotional and behavioural challenges than those from intact families’” Divorce affects all ages of their offspring, in this study, high school teenagers were the only ones that were

Children may wish that they could have changed things such as completing chores, participate more in school, and avoid arguing with their siblings; anything to avoid the separation of their parents. From a professional viewpoint, it is crucial for parents to communicate with their children during the split-up process. Explaining to a child that the decision to part is because of the issues faced by the parents could help in lessening the likelihood of children bearing the weight of an adult’s situation. When divorce is present, I believe a family’s development can immediately be bargained, if the circumstances are not addressed appropriately. While every child in a divorced family is not necessarily losing a relationship, it is still a significant change. Children suffer emotionally and this can cause a strain on the family; furthermore, “many of the children caught up in the experience of divorce exhibit difficulties in functioning, including frequent behavior problems and deficiencies in academic performance, even years following the event”

When parent choose divorce as a solution, their children become exposed to countless stressors. These children know for a fact things are about to change, but they are unsure how which can be quite a frightful experience. These kids have to learn to cope with the whole situation with no anticipation since divorce tends to be a sudden decision rather than a planned, pre-meditated option. On the other hand, some couples choose to stay together since they do not want their children to face the amount of stress brought by divorce. Children may need to change schools or move to another house, which can be very taxing on them. The stress can be increased when their quality of life decreases after moving to a different home. This can also affect the parent who becomes overwhelmed since he or she cannot provide as much as the parent with the better quality of life. Although the changes in the child’s life may vary depending on the sex of the parent they stay with and the sex of the children. Divorce has a very taxing effect on children, and presents stressful challenges to their lives.