Archive for the ‘Impact Of Divorce On Children’ Category
New Study Indicates Divorce Process May Impact Math and Social Development
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011A new study published in the June edition of the American Sociological Review indicates that parents should be exceptionally vigilant about the potential impact of their divorce on their children. The research conducted by the American Sociological Association indicates that children of divorce are at risk of suffering an adverse impact on the development of math abilities and certain interpersonal social skills. The researchers evaluated the impact of divorce on children in the pre-divorce stage, divorce stage and post-divorce stage.
One of the lead authors of the report expected that any adverse impact would begin in the pre-divorce stage due to hostility and fighting that leads to divorce. However, the results of the study found that there is no noticeable impact on children prior to divorce nor due children “catch up” after the divorce is finalized.
The study relied on a nationally representative study from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998 to 1999. There were 3,585 children in the study, and data was compared between children of divorce and children of intact families. The study found that children of divorce suffer developmental setbacks in math and social skills, such as low self-esteem, loneliness, sadness and anxiety. The setbacks all seem to occur during the actual divorce rather than beginning earlier in the marriage with conflict that leads up to the divorce. The study also revealed that once the divorce is over children do not seem to suffer further setbacks though they also do not seem to make up the deficit.
The researchers identified a number of factors that may contribute to the result including:
- Parents arguing about fault and custody
- Impact on the child’s social network when the child relocates
- Impact of parent’s depression on the children
- Financial challenges from reduced household income
- Loss of stability along with moving back and forth between the parents’ homes
The study also revealed that the adverse impact of the divorce process on children does not extend to the development of a child’s reading skills or external interpersonal skills. These interpersonal skills include acting out in terms of arguing, fighting and outward hostility. This study suggests that parents that focus on their children’s well-being and making the divorce process as smooth and non-confrontational as possible may be able to mitigate the potential residual impact of a divorce on one’s children.
The experienced and caring Florida divorce attorneys at Eric N. Klein & Associates are committed to promoting constructive timeshare arrangements between parents to reduce the stress and anxiety for both our clients and their children. We know that divorce can have a long-term impact on our clients’ children so we work closely with our clients to find the way to achieve their objectives with the minimum amount of disruption to the lives of our clients and their children. Our Ft. Lauderdale divorce attorneys provide a free no obligation initial consultation so call us today at 954-580-8080.
Effective Strategies for Helping Your Child though the Florida Divorce Process [Part II]
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011This is a continuation of our two-part series of articles on effective strategies to protect your children from the emotional consequences of the divorce process in Florida. Divorce is a time of great change for children so strategies that reduce conflict and promote continuity can have an enormous benefit to your children. We have provided some specific strategies to make the process less stressful for your children:
- Never Use Your Children as a Messenger Service
Many parents struggle to communicate constructively with each other during a divorce. Because such communication is necessary, children frequently become the go between who is expected to transmit messages back and forth between mom and dad. This is a practice that should be avoided. It places children directly in the middle of issues of dispute in a divorce. The less children know about the issues of contention in a divorce the easier it is for children to adjust. Children may also interpret or communicate messages incorrectly creating more conflict for the parents. If you have a hard time communicating with the other parent, email or text messaging can provides an impersonal way to communicate that is not likely to create the conflict that may result from an in-person meeting or telephone call.
- Do Not Be Afraid to Seek Assistance
Some parents find that they struggle emotionally and financially during the divorce process. Our experienced Florida divorce attorneys may be able to help parents by seeking temporary orders for child support, spousal support, mortgage payment assistance and even attorney’s fees. During a divorce, there may be substantial financial challenges because the same amount of income is now stretched to support two households instead of one. You should not feel shy about asking family for financial support or seeking emotional support from friends and family. The emotional and physical well being of your children are closely tied to your own. It is advisable to put your children’s best interest above concerns about asking for help.
- Do Not Depend on Your Spouse for Your Child’s Needs
When it comes to your child’s care and physical needs, you should not rely on your spouse. Each parent’s home should be equipped with all of the things your child needs including diapers, school supplies, clothes and the like. The goal is to make your child feel like the residence of both parents is home. This prevents your child from feeling lost without necessities when in your home or feeling like your child has no home because the child is constantly transporting necessary basics back and forth between each parent’s home.
- Avoid Discussing Divorce Issues with Your Child
While the divorce process can be confusing for a child, generally it is not helpful to discuss the details of your divorce with your children. If your children ask, the best option is just to let them know that both you and your spouse love them and that everything will work out. The issues in a divorce are adult issues and discussing them with your children is only likely to make them stressed or unhappy.
At Eric N. Klein & Associates, we represent clients in divorce and child custody proceedings with compassion and diligence from our offices in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach. If you are considering a Florida divorce, our dedicated Broward County divorce attorneys are here to help so call us today at 954-580-8080.
Effective Strategies for Helping Your Child though the Florida Divorce Process [Part I]
Monday, June 27th, 2011We devote a fair amount of attention in this blog to the process of making a Florida divorce easier on you and your children. This is an extension of our firm philosophy that our role is to make the divorce process stress free and economical while pursuing our clients’ best interest. We know that sometimes scorched earth litigation is the only option that makes sense, but generally this means increasing the cost and stress of our clients’ divorce as well as exacerbating the emotional challenges for children going through a divorce. We view our goal as making your divorce as painless as possible rather than stirring up litigation and creating issues with the primary result that your litigation costs are substantially higher.
There are many ways that you can reduce the stress and anxiety associated with your divorce for your children. We know that for parents the safety and security of their children is a critical issue in their divorce. We have provided a list of suggestions for reducing the adverse impact experienced by your children when you proceed through the Florida divorce process:
- Do Not Be Embarrassed about the Divorce Process
We are sometimes amazed by the number of clients that we see who are still uncomfortable with people knowing that they are going through a divorce. Even though the probability that a marriage will succeed is no better statistically than winning a coin flip, many people still feel a sense of failure or shame when their marriage fails. Some of these feelings may be based on historical biases about divorce or religious teachings. At the end of the day, divorce is very common and very normal when a relationship breaks down.
The problem with hiding your divorce from others is that it cuts off your access to valuable information about how your children are coping with the divorce. For example, teachers can be an invaluable source of information about how your children are coping with the stress and anxiety of the changes associated with a divorce. A teacher who knows that your child is adjusting to a divorce is in a unique position to notice academic and behavioral changes in your child. Coaches, daycare providers and others who see and interact with your children on a daily basis also can provide critical information regarding your child if you do not hide the fact that you are going through a divorce to which your child is adjusting.
- Provide Consistency Wherever Possible
Significant change can challenge a child’s coping skills. Divorce certainly constitutes a major change for a child but the magnitude of the change can be mitigated. If you can maintain the child’s school, friends, extended family, family home and extracurricular activities with minimal interruption, the continuity can make the divorce process easier for your child. For many children, divorce may mean not living with one of the child’s parents, which is a very major life change. If other changes can be delayed to give a child time to adjust, it may be easier for the child to adjust to not having both parents living in the family home.
- Avoid Disparaging Comments and Conflict
We realize this is sometimes easier said than done. People do not typically divorce because they are thrilled with one another so maintaining a civil tone and preventing negative comments from slipping out about the other parent or their new partner can be difficult. The reality is that the more you are able to maintain a cordial constructive relationship with your child’s other parent and new partner the easier it will be for your children. A child confronted with disparaging comments may feel the need to take sides or be afraid to voice concerns or express genuine stress and anxiety. Disparaging comments also may contribute to a sense of alienation in your child from one or both parents and will be viewed extremely negatively by someone appointed by the court to represent your child’s interest or a family law judge.
These are some of the strategies that parents can use to make the Florida divorce process easier on their children. At Eric N. Klein & Associates, our experienced Florida divorce attorneys represent clients in the full myriad of family law issues including but not limited to divorce, child custody, child support and domestic violence from our offices in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach.
If you or someone close to you has legal questions about a family law issue or need legal representation in a Florida divorce or other family law matter, our experienced and compassionate Fort Lauderdale family law attorneys are here to help so call us today at 954-580-8080.
Study Finds Children of Divorce Die Sooner
Monday, May 9th, 2011In a study conducted by Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin, it was found that children whose parents have divorced are likely to die five years earlier than children whose parents stay together.
Divorce was found to have a more significant effect on children than the death of a parent. The children were found to die of medical problems or traumatic events, like murder or suicide. While these results do indicate a correlational relationship between divorce and early death, it does not imply a cause.
The psychologists who conducted the experiment have stated that the best environment for a child is one that includes hard work and close ties with family members and the child’s community.
While divorce is difficult, it is sometimes the only option. To make sure that your children are kept in a safe environment during and after a divorce, please contact the Fort Lauderdale child custody lawyers of Eric N. Klein & Associates, P.A., at 954-580-8080.
Is Divorce Ever a Better Alternative for Your Children?
Thursday, April 28th, 2011The impact of divorce on children has been debated for decades with views changing frequently. Many experts believe that a divorce can have a negative impact on children particularly an extremely contentious divorce. This view is not universally accepted because there have also been many studies suggesting that children may actually benefit from their parents divorce where the relationship is extremely hostile. The constant fighting, tension and conflict between parents in a marriage that has broken down can be more difficult for children to cope with than a divorce that leaves both parents happier. The decision to divorce is never one to be taken lightly because divorce will certainly change your children’s lives as well as your own.
Marriages that end in divorce typically begin a process of unraveling, estrangement, or emotional separation years before the actual legal divorce is obtained. A fair number of studies suggest that the stress, anxiety and other adverse effects of such bad relationships may have much more serious adverse impacts on one’s children than the divorce process. This approach to divorce views divorce as a sort of therapeutic treatment of a diseased marriage that slowly changes the relationship removing the symptoms of the malignant relationship. Even within this view of the divorce process, children will still face challenges with the change in their home environment and living situation. The theory is that once the divorce process is complete both parents may settle into happy lives removed from the stress and alienation of a bad relationship. Both parents may also pursue new functional happy relationships that allow their children to model constructive positive relationships as opposed to the dysfunctional conflict filled relationship shared between their parents.
The accuracy of these generalizations is affected significantly by the specifics of a particular divorce. If both parents are able to deal with one another in a constructive cooperative manner, this will reduce any negative conflict that may be associated with a divorce. The more constructive your communication and interaction with the other parent during the divorce process and following a divorce the better the chance that any adverse impact of the divorce on your children will be reduced. Many parents are able to interact reasonably well after a divorce, which combined with the parents being happy and more content in new relationships creates less stress and a more positive home environment for their children.
An experienced Florida family law attorney may be able to help you ensure that your divorce has a long-term positive impact on your children. Many parties that are not represented by a family law attorney in a divorce find the process filled with animosity and conflict that prevents reaching workable timeshare arrangements. This conflict continues even after the divorce and impairs the ability of the parents to transition smoothly into new relationships or single life and the ability of the parents to model constructive interactions in the presence of their children.
It is not uncommon that the presence of a knowledgeable Florida family law attorney will help guide parties through the animosity and hurt that may inhibit the parties’ ability to reach constructive agreements. This can result in creative mutually agreeable child custody arrangements that are acceptable to both parents. If the terms of any custody agreement are more acceptable, both parents will typically be happier and adjust to the transition better. A smoother happier transition for the parents typically means the same for the children. The bottom line is that an experienced Ft. Lauderdale divorce attorney can help make your divorce process less difficult for your children and may even mean that your children are happier and better adjusted after the divorce than during a conflict filled marriage.
We provide an initial no obligation free Florida divorce consultation.
If you or someone you love is considering filing for divorce in Broward County, or has any other family-law-related needs, the Fort Lauderdale divorce attorneys of Eric N. Klein & Associates, P.A. may be able to help. To discuss your needs with us in detail and learn more about what we may be able to do for you, please contact us today by calling 954-580-8080.
