Divorce- Don't destroy the children too.
It is a sad fact that many marriages today end up in the divorce courts. The reasons for these breakdowns are many. It is often painful, traumatic and the effects may be long lasting. This is never truer than in the tragedy of children caught up in the battles of their parents. For them the world has come crashing down. Their lives will never be the same again.
There are perhaps more than 15 million children in the US who have directly witnessed the breakdown of their parent's marriages. Research indicates that these children will all suffer some form of damage. Some of that damage may be repairable. For many children however, the trauma of divorce will have an unfavorable affect on the rest of their lives. With care, love, support and attention, parents, no matter what their differences, can help their children adjust to this new world. The tragedy for many children is that some parents are either unwilling or unable to do so.
Imagine for a moment how a young child perceives the world. He or she witnesses it first hand through the actions of the parent. We were taught to stand and walk, to love and learn through our parents. With their help we grew to become the people we are today. Yet is true to say that the world the child sees is not always a fair and loving one. Sadly many children grow up in a home that is anything but comforting. They may witness scenes of aggression and abuse. They may witness the two people they look up to more than any other, constantly at each other's throats. Don't you think that a child who witnesses this will ask why?.
We look to our parents to make sense of this world. We seek some form of reassurance that there is safety and sanctuary, love and protection. Imagine how it must feel to have the very pillars of your life crumbling down around you. Divorce shatters the only world that a child has. Is it any wonder then that divorce is a tragic and earth shattering experience for a child?.